This book presents the proceedings of a conference held near Washington, DC (Airlie, Virginia) to discuss the need for innovative new approaches to rural policy. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan opened the conference by stressing the crucial importance of flexibility in enhancing...

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) introduce a new relationship between time and space. Do the nascent possibilities of tele-work, distant access to public services and e-commerce offer both realistic and innovating perspectives for rural development? Are ICTs a threat rather than...

Low incomes and high unemployment in rural areas are issues of concern to policy makers in all countries. With the ongoing structural adjustment in primary agriculture employment opportunities are diminishing, while off-farm employment in rural areas is growing, albeit gradually