From the Abstract: This volume examines the reforms and policy changes necessary in the rural sectors or the ten countries that have started the accession process for eventual membership in the European Union (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). The papers in this volume are selected from the presentations at the Third World Bank/FAO EU Accession Workshop held in Sofia, Bulgaria, on June 17-20, 2000, and are organized around four topics: (i) defining the concepts of rural development-options for EU accession candidate countries; (ii) rural development in the European Union; (iii) rural development in Central and Eastern Europe; and (iv) international experiences and the role of international organizations in supporting rural development in the EU accession candidate countries. This volume is intended for agricultural policy makers and government officials in the candidate countries, EU officials, World Bank and FAO staff, development scholars, and all others interested in the process of rural development in Central and Eastern Europe.

Although at different stages of development, the countries of the Western Balkans—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia—face similar challenges in transforming and modernizing their agricultural food production (agri-food) sectors. Their rural sectors have lagged behind the rest of the economy in growth and poverty reduction, their agri-food sectors are undercapitalized and highly fragmented, and their agro-processing capacities limited. Agricultural trade deficits are widening, climate change is posing increasing risks to farm incomes, and low-cost imports and changing consumer preferences are further eroding competitiveness. Added to this scenario are the challenges and opportunities of adopting the EU 'acquis communautaire' relating to agriculture. Based on recent World Bank reports prepared in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the European Commission Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development, 'The Changing Face of Rural Space: Agriculture and Rural Development in the Western Balkans' identifies what is constraining agricultural competitiveness in these countries, examines public expenditures in agriculture, and diagnoses key challenges for agricultural policy makers. The book expands on previous findings to provide a strategic policy framework for transforming and modernizing the agri-food sector and, in the context of region’s ongoing process of integration with the European Union, creating a dynamic rural space in the Western Balkans. The book offers Western Balkan governments and international donors a shared vision of the goals and directions their agriculture and rural development policies and programs might take.

By the end of this century, 9 out of 10 Europeans will live in an urban area. But what kind of city will they call home? You'll find all the answers in CITY, TRANSFORMED, the new essay series from the European Investment Bank. This panoramic first essay in the series lays out a great sweeping history of European cities over the last fifty years—and showcases new directions being taken by some of our most innovative cities. Urban experts Greg Clark, Tim Moonen, and Jake Nunley based at University College London take a definitive look at how Europe's cities transformed from post-industrial decline to thriving metropolises that are as prosperous and liveable as anywhere on Earth.

The agricultural privatization strategy adopted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was based on the premise that family farms are the most effective alternative to socialist large-scale agriculture. In addition, international organizations, particularly the World Bank, made recommendations concerning reform speed, synchronization and ownership rights that would facilitate transferring resources from large-scale producers to family farmers. This book provides a critical and comparative analysis of the implementation of this policy, and in particular the strategy promoted by the World Bank. The preservation of large-scale production is the key to Estonia's success while its eradication from Latvia and Lithuania did not produce a family farm system. Work productivity and the extent of plot farming are the indicators of success or failure. Research findings on deindustrialization, the hardships faced by new enterprises, rural tourism, increasing poverty, and problems in the civil society as presented in this book shed new light on these and other key issues in transition strategy.

Presents a reinvigorated agenda on agricultural and rural development in Asia both for research and policy discussions in the coming decades.

This volume focuses attention on key environmental and institutional changes associated with eastern expansion of the European Union, assessing and challenging prevailing views about the outcomes and processes of this historic development. Looking at four central themes -- capacity changes and limitations, the EU's mixed messages and conflicting priorities, non-state actor roles and developments, and the exchange of ideas and information - the volume shows that enlargement will change the EU, not just make it bigger, and that EU officials and programs are improving aspects of environmental policy in CEE countries even as they are making others less sustainable. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Environmental Politics.

Bringing together case studies from Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal and the UK, this book examines the contribution of entrepreneurial ventures and new technology in stimulating economic development in rural locations. It looks at instances of 'good practice' in terms of both public and private initiatives, and develops a coherent combination of policy objectives facilitating the long-term economic development of the countryside. Firstly analyzing the key causes and effects of economic restructuring currently affecting Europe's rural areas, the book then explores the consequences that European integration and 'globalization' have had and will have in future. It identifies sources of entrepreneurship and examines their distribution between different gender, age and other social groupings. The book continues to evaluate the extent to which the existing institutional, social and technological environment and infrastructure encourages and facilitates entrepreneurship.

This book identifies, diagnoses and evaluates social and economic processes taking place in the rural areas of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) states in the last 25 years and affecting the immediate future, with a particular focus on their spatial diversity. It addresses questions related to the rationality of the current development policy and possible results in the future. Contemporary processes of socio-economic development are typified by the fact that spatial and regional disparities are tending to increase. This unfavourable phenomenon manifested both in society and in terms of polarised space needs to be counteracted using an effective development policy. The book highlights issues concerning demography, functional structure and non-agricultural activity, and identifies new challenges arising from membership of the European Union (EU). Accession to the EU and the opportunity to implement support measures has further increased the dynamism of transformation – a process that proceeded under various scenarios and different regulations and assumptions that have yet to be identified and evaluated. Furthermore, the current internal policies of individual CEE states concerning rural areas are diverse and likely to affect differential future development. The book is based on the knowledge and experience of scientists from countries in the region investigated, who have the best understanding of the subject matter and have observed the transformations. It is intended for researchers exploring the development of the countryside and practitioners dealing with regional and national development policies targeting rural areas.

In Agriculture in Transition: Land Policies and Evolving Farm Structures in Post Soviet Countries authors Zvi Lerman, Csaba Csaki, and Gershon Feder study the land policies and farming structures of these newly emerging nations as components of institutional change in the rural sector - change from a centralized rural economy to a market-oriented economy.