The main objective of the research is to evaluate the significance of gmina local government in the field of agriculture and non-agricultural activity development in rural areas. To achieve this, questionnaires were designed and rural areas inhabitants were interviewed. The interviewees were...

Danish rural areas comprise 15% of the population and the bulk of agricultural production. Compared with urban areas, rural areas have generally been lacking a little behind in terms of employment, population and income levels in recent decades. However, seen in a European perspective, the...

The research was composed of two parts. In the first one, an attempt was made to determine spatial variations in the level of sustainable development of rural areas in the region of Green Lungs of Poland by means of taxonomic analysis. The level of sustainable development was presented as a...

During the past fifteen years Finnish agricultural, agri-environmental and rural policies have undergone signifi cant changes. Structural changes of agriculture, emphasis on the joint production of food and public goods, as well as the recognition of general multifunctional nature of agriculture...

Rural development processes can be interpreted as the result of an increasingly complex interplay of different driving forces. The 'rural web' concept, developed recently as a theoretical framework, emerges as the intersection of six inter-related dimensions (endogenity, novelty production,...

The assumption of the multifunctional character of the rural area implies the multiplication of roles that this territory has in the society. The new roles (ecologic, socio-cultural, etc.) are assumed as far as the rural society perceives their importance, as well as the benefi ts generated by...

The economic and social inequalities take multiple forms. Their complexity and effect upon individual and overall human development are increasingly deep as several inequality risk sources are cumulated. There is a well-known mutual driving effect that the economic inequality causes have upon...

The main directions of rural policy aimed at improving the quality of life and stimulate economic activities in the EU are: improving and developing infrastructure; diversification and development of economic activities; training and education of the population in rural areas. Indicators used for...

Social and economic transformations in Poland had as one of the consequences the fact that rural areas faced a number of difficulties and challenges. In connection with the political system transformation and Poland's accession to the European Union, problems appeared, concerning mainly the...

The report presents the results from the analysis of the population of Polish rural municipalities. The analysis was related to broadly conceived “sustained developmentâ€. An essential aspect was also associated with “comparison†(yielding “development qualityâ€),...