Local determinants of the Common Agricultural Policy rural development funds' distribution in Poland and their spatial implications

We combine factor analysis and linear regression models to link local determinants of development of agriculture and rural areas with the frequency of applications for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rural development measures. We use Poland as an example. Our analysis provides insights into spatial implications of incentive-based rural development programs. The results demonstrate that EU rural development policy in Poland remains farm-centric and favors regions of better agricultural structures, thus it tends to deepen the regional disparities in Polish agriculture and rural areas. The level of local agricultural potential is strongly related to the frequency of applying for funds under all analyzed measures, including those that were designed to diversify rural economies and increase the quality of life in rural areas.