Who Decides and Who Invests? The Role of the Public, Private and Third Sectors in Rural Development according to Geographical Contexts: The LEADER Approach in Andalusia, 2007-2015

In general, the LEADER programme has had a positive impact, although it has also negative aspects. In this paper, we analyse the role of the three main stakeholders (public sector, private sector and third sector) within the LEADER local action groups (LAGs) in the decision-making process and final execution of the projects, to discover whether there is any relation between those taking the decisions and those carrying out the projects, according to the degree of rurality of the different areas. Our primary source was the files for all the successfully implemented LEADER projects in Andalusia between 2007 and 2015. Relevant findings are: although the public sector plays a leading role in the LAGs and in the decision-making process, most of the projects, as measured by total investment, are carried out by the private sector; the degree of rurality is an important factor, in that private sector investors tend to invest in peri-urban spaces, while public bodies, and especially local councils, invest in remote rural areas. The LAGs play a strategic role, in terms of making up for the almost negligible input from the third sector.