New Zealand First candidate Rom Rudzki spoke of market deregulation in the 1980s and labelled it "an experiment as bizarre as communism".
"We are still living with the consequences," he said.
Mr Rudzki wanted regions to keep more of the royalties from resource extraction and increase the minimum wage.
Conservative candidate Roy Brown said his party had policies to keep money in the region which included making the first $20,000 of income tax free. "Hopefully you would spend that in your region and community."
Mr McKelvie called for the status quo through much of the debate and backed his Government's record, saying over the last six years it had resurrected an economy from the worst recession.
Rangitikei Labour candidate Deborah Russell said it was going to be hard to get further economic growth out of the big cities and the country needed to take advantage of the unused infrastructure in regional New Zealand.
"It's all under populated and underused. There's a fantastic multiplying effect of just getting some industry into the regions."
Act candidate Neil Wilson said Rangitikei could benefit from its cheap housing in attracting people to the region, as it had him and his partner.
From the Te Tai Hauauru Maori electorate, only Labour's Adrian Rurawhe was there, and he spoke of addressing inequality in the Maori seat as being fundamental. "Until we address those issues, you can put programmes in place but if parents don't have the ability to participate ... then you are going to be in the same position."
The debate was fought in good spirits, though Mr Wilson copped some heckling for denying inequality was increasing.
"Nobody's going to gain from bringing down the rich to help the poor. If we just hand out money to the poor then we're going to create a long-term down trend," he said.
And Mr Wilson's reasoning for the failure of passenger railways was because "railway men do not like passengers".
Mr Rudzki won the humour stakes with several one-liners including "that's why we need a water policy," when knocking over his glass for the second time.
Rangitikei mayor Andy Watson asked about funding for road maintenance, as it was the biggest issue facing the district.
Labour candidate Deborah Russell accused the Government of shifting money from rural roads to their Roads of National Significance project, citing proposed cuts in the Funding Assistance Rate (FAR), while Mr Rudzki said the district's roads had to be part of an integrated transport plan and paid for from petrol and road taxes.
Mr McKelvie maintained that the Roads of National Significance would give the biggest benefit to Rangitikei of any Government policy and would provide an economic boon.