Our primary focus in the present paper is to research the current state of social infrastructure in rural areas of Ukraine. In addition, we attempt to identify the factors which impact the establishment of appropriate conditions in support of vital social functions and services among the...

This article, devoted to the issue of non-agricultural economic activity in rural areas, reports upon the latest statistical data, as well as material obtained by way of field study. Successive sections acquaint the reader with the contemporary functional structure of rural areas, the areas in...

This paper investigates the current demographic crisis in Bulgarian rural areas and potential solutions for overcoming it. The future development of rural areas in Bulgaria will depend on the practical implementation of the National Plan for Rural Development – NPRD (2007-2013)....

The European Union’s cohesion policy and its Structural Funds are key delivery mechanisms to achieve the priorities of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth but there is evidence that rural areas may be receiving an inadequate share of this funding. In the period 2014 to 2020,...

All EU countries prepare new Rural Development Plan 2014-2020 for agriculture and rural areas incl. LEADER. An integral part of the planned document is analysis of rural areas and the LEADER programme. Some key questions were solved during the analysis. Such as: “How to target financial...

The common West European problems are the following: population ageing and proportional (and often also absolute) decline of the labour force. These deficits are partially covered by the East-West migration flows for work, but these labour force movements generate similar problems on the labour...

The sparsely populated northern Sweden has been the main target area for regional policy efforts since the 1960s. A rich variety of regional policy measures have been launched over the years. However, despite this and a heavy expansion of welfare undertakings a significant depopulation has taken...

The theory of path dependency reveals that in the territories, where the population is characterized with worsened structure, the infrastructure is affected by underdeveloped problems and the amenities are not enough evinced, it is difficult to expect designation of activities, creating new...

The aim of this study is to analyze the theoretical fundaments of the social networks and to present some existing rural development networks in the North-Eastern Development Region in Romania. A successful rural development depends to a very large extent on the partnerships. The existence in...

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...