Integrated Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Central European Countries presents the exciting results of original research on the integrated development of agriculture and rural areas in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. This edited collection includes academics from both Western and Central European Countries who worked together on a three-year research project. The project yielded unique data that covers different aspects of rural development-both agriculture and non-agricultural activities-and is of special relevance owing to these countries' status as new members of the European Union. Following an introduction into the transition process and the current situations in each country, variations in farm performance are analyzed, a detailed look is taken at the rural development in the EU, the role of non-agricultural farm diversification is analyzed, and the major findings of the research are presented. This exceptional collection compiled by Davidova, Bauer, and Cuddy, will appeal to scholars of agriculture and rural economics and policy.

Transitions, Institutions and the Rural Sector is a series of essays examining and analyzing the rural transformations in the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The authors included in this volume employ a variety of interesting and insightful approaches to the topic, including synthetic regional analysis, analytic comparative studies, and unique case studies drawn from fieldwork. The first part of the book presents comparative studies of agrarian reform during the past decade of transition, while the second contains detailed studies of individual countries. Part of the Rural Economies in Transition series, Transitions, Institutions and the Rural Sector explores the complexities of rural transformations and the often unanticipated challenges faced by both the public and private sector in developing countries. Editor Max Spoor has assembled a set of thoroughly researched and persuasively argued pieces that fill a major gap in the scholarship on transition economies

Of the ten Central and Eastern European countries that have applied for membership in the European Union, Romania ranks among the largest and most impoverished. Romania represents the final challenge in the European Union's enlargement to the east, largely due to its major, but underdeveloped, agriculture and food sectors. The agriculture industry, which is a major component of the national economy, extends its pervasive influence to both Romanian social life and environment. Consequently, the transition towards a market oriented economic system will pose new obstacles for the country's farmers, processors, traders, and policymakers. While identifying the impediments that surround Romanian agriculture and its inevitable progression towards transition is a simple task, the challenges lie in recommending solutions. Through careful analysis of numerous recent studies on reform policies in the Romanian agri-food sector during its economic transition, this comprehensive examination offers perspicacious suggestions and insights on the following topics in particular: international trade, credit for agricultural development, price policies, and rural development. The conclusions reached are not only of domestic importance and application, they are also of immediate relevance for many post-socialist countries, for which the agri-food sector is a principal vehicle for rural development.