The paper applies a non-parametric propensity score matching approach to evaluate the effects of two types of farm programs (agri-environment (AE) programs and the less favoured area (LFA) scheme) on input use and farm output of individual farms in Germany. The analysis reveals a positive and...

Complexity and variable uptake of CAP (Pillar 2) measures and rural diversity of the EU provide significant challenges for evaluation. The rationale of indepth case study analysis as an essential complement to formal evaluation techniques is illustrated with comparative studies of employment...

LEADER supports integrated rural regional development. The programme is characterized by a participatory and bottom-up approach, public-private partnerships, multi-sectoral regional development strategies and innovation. An obligatory Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) was set up...

The research starts from the necessity to create specific tools for evaluating the impacts of rural development policies on fragile areas. The objective of this study is to exploit a synthetic measure of marginality, obtained through a specific tool set by IRES Piemonte (Institute of Socio...

With the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) a guidance document for evaluation of rural development policy has been published by the European Commission. The CMEF defines the requirements on monitoring and evaluation and specifies a limited number of quantitative common indicators...

The present paper asks under what circumstances a standardisation of evaluations would be feasible in order to enable a comprehensible aggregation of results for the European administration. We argue that in the complex environment of rural development the adequate definition of system...

In 2007 in every European Union region, involved in the planning of Rural Development Plan (RDP), an independent evaluator should asses the impact of the plan in term of value added and productivity. Each region has adopted different methodologies but few of them have followed the indications of...

Environmental “public goods” generated by agricultural land use are discussed in terms of their conceptual underpinnings and how they have been addressed to date in European Union policy for agriculture and rural development. The current debate on CAP reform has intensified the already...

There is a wide range of evaluation methods. On the basis of which criteria should one method be chosen? On what scientific foundations are the results of numerous evaluations based? How can reliability and empirical validity be tested? The relevance of such questions is heightened in new fields...

The academic literature makes evident that the main immaterial contribution of the LEADER approach (LA) consists in the promotion of social capital in rural areas. Therefore the insertion of LA in the framework of Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) should be considered as a powerful opportunity...