@phdthesis{theses_frw3146,
          author = {E.W.K. Brouwer},
           title = {The impact of school closures on rural villages in the Northern Netherlands.  A precursor of demographic decline?},
            year = {2019},
        abstract = {This paper investigates the impact of the closure of the last primary school on villages in the Northern Netherlands between 2001 and 2018. Is the expected ?demographic death? after a school closure, suggested by local residents and politicians, empirically valid? As the number of closures has increased in the Netherlands and will continue to do so, it is crucial to check if these presumptions are true. This was examined on the basis of two demographic indicators and data on housing transactions. Evidence for a negative effect of the closure of a primary school has been found. However, the impact is fairly small. The availability of a school may influence some relocating decisions, but there is no evidence for the ?demographic death? of rural villages. Therefore, the conclusion of this paper contradicts popular sentiment, but is in line with the results of similar studies done on the closure of local services.},
             url = {https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/3146/}
}