Changes in the rural labour market, especially the increase of rural non-farm employment are recognised as one dimension of structural change. Labour allocation decisions are driven by economic incentives such as wage differentials, but also non-economic motives may play a decisive role. This...

Table of Contents: Gertrud Buchenrieder and Judith Möllers, The transformation of the rural economy in the new member states of the European Union: Implications for empirical analyses of rural structural change and livelihoods ... 1; Luka Juvančič and Tina Jaklič, Recent trends, drivers and...

The current discussion regarding the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is challenging due to the varying needs and interests of the old and new member states (NMS) of the European Union (EU). The NMS still display tremendous disparities in most structural and socio-economic...

The contributions in this edited volume constitute the mini-symposium on 'Structural change in Europe's rural regions - Farm livelihoods between subsistence orientation, modernization and non-farm diversification' at the international conference of the International Association of Agricultural...

We investigate how the perception for wide-spread bribing culture affects rural non-farm startup plans in transition. The study contributes to the literature on rural entrepreneurship and the role of institutional factors as drivers of entrepreneurial decisions. Using primary farm household data...

We take a qualitative snapshot of rural entrepreneurs in Bulgaria aiming to shed light opportunities and barriers they face in post communist rural communities. Utilising ethnographical methodology, we capture the complex interplay with the institutional environment. Rural entrepreneurship may...

Rural non-farm employment (RNFE) is thought to ease poverty, economic vulnerability and income inequality. Two key questions arise: (1) Do alternative income sources actually help to raise the welfare of small family farms? (2) How is the rural regional income distribution affected by mixed...

The prevalence of subsistence-oriented farming and the scarcity of non-farm employment make migration a common livelihood strategy in rural Kosovo. Consequently, many households rely heavily on remittances. Although migrants themselves often struggle to finance their everyday lives in their host...