When applying New Institutional Economics (NIE) to empirical studies one is confronted with typical problems of operationalization. To illustrate some of these problems, this paper utilizes a comparative institutional analysis of the German Water and Soil Associations and alternative governance...

The paper uses function analysis to complement the analytical framework Institutions of Sustainability and to apply it for the analysis of the role of institutions for the multifunctionality of landscapes. This combination of conceptual tools is evaluated through their application to the case of...

Today, decentralised sewage disposal plants are increasingly accepted as permanent solution in rural areas. However, it is still debated in which cases they are more appropriate than central systems. The following paper deals with technological and institutional aspects of this problem. It poses...

Die Mehrdimensionalitat des sozialwissenschaftlichen Verstandnisses von Institutionen stellt eine besondere Herausforderung an deren Analyse. Woraus bestehen Institutionen? Die umfangreiche Literatur uber Institutionen bietet mehrere Kategorisierungen an, die uber die analytische Differenzierung...

The Working Paper compiles three contributions of a regional workshop on "Regional Networks in Agriculture" jointly organized by three subprojects of the DFG-Research Group SUTRA. The workshop took place on January 13, 2005 in Bad Liebenwerda in the district (Landkreis) Elbe-Elster in the German...

In human geography the concepts of regional branch clusters have become increasingly important. In these concepts firms of the same or related supply chains work together and cooperate in networks of the same regional, cultural and social background. According to their regional proximity, firms...

In this paper we analyse agricultural land prices in the German Federal State of Brandenburg within the period 2000-2011. Our objective is to understand the price formation process in foreclosures. One effect of foreclosures relates to pressured sales, which likely lead to a price discount, and...

Within the context of transition and pasture reform in Central Asian and Caucasian countries our study focuses on the pasture reform in Azerbaijan. The pasture reform in Azerbaijan has received little attention in scientific literature although it displays a rapid emergence of individualised...

The report summarizes the activities and the action-oriented research work of Pilot Project 4 (PP4) “Web-based Information Tools and Communication and Participation Strategies“. Research objectives were divided in two areas: a) communication issues, namely the development of a...

Ex-ante impact assessment of agricultural, environmental, and rural policies has become an integral part of political decision making processes in the EU. While there is a large variety of agri-environmental modelling tools available to analyse likely social, economic, and environmental impacts...