An increasing number of large corporations are moving their offices from crowded city centers to rural areas. Do the advantages of this relocation outweigh the disadvantages?

The principal benefit of relocating is financial. Rent in a central business district can be ten times higher than in a provincial town, so a firm that moves out frees millions, which it can spend on hiring more people and paying them better over time. If the same company stayed in the centre, that money would simply disappear into a landlord's pocket. In Morocco,

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, several insurance and technology firms that shifted from Casablanca to business parks on the outskirts cut their property costs dramatically

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giving employees spacious offices and parking. Closely linked to

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is the effect on the workforce, since people who no longer spend two hours a day in traffic arrive calmer and rarely leave for a competitor.

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, relocation does carry certain disadvantages. The most obvious is that talented young professionals prefer the restaurants, universities and social life of a metropolis, but some will refuse to follow their employer into a quiet valley.

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, the departure of a large office removes customers from the cafés, shops and transport services that depended on them. Central Rabat,

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, lost several thriving lunch venues after two ministries moved away, and,

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, dozens of small traders closed.

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, these problems are matters of planning rather than flaws in the idea itself because good shuttle buses, remote-working days and partnerships with local colleges keep staff content, which makes the drawbacks far less serious than the lasting benefits.