rural

The study of the territorial and regional development in Spain has nowadays a relatively long tradition, but from the point of view of cities development the number of studies and documents decreases drastically. The paper tries to improve the knowledge of the Spanish urban system.

Lack of coordination among agencies at project level and scarce promotion of contracts at micro-scale are critical gaps widely spread in many Latin American regions. The authors discuss some specific and feasible mechanism such as alliances for rural development and contract promoters.

According to the authors, with a new dataset, it was estimated that Latin American governments spend, on average, nearly 6 % of their budget in rural areas, which represents approximately 135 U.S. $ per rural inhabitant. The trend is indicative of an increase in the level of rural governmental
spending, but its composition is changing. In gross terms there is a rise in social expenditures.

The study attempts to measure the total benefits from rice varietal improvement research in China and India using variety adoption and performance data over the last two decades. The results indicate that rice varietal improvement research has contributed tremendously to increase in rice production, accounting for 14-23 percent of total production value over the last two decades in both countries.

The paper reports findings of a Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research project including seven case studies of different types of agricultural research: aggregate investments in agricultural research in China and India; rice, vegetable, and fishpond technologies in Bangladesh; soil fertility replenishment in Kenya; hybrid maize in Zimbabwe, and creolized maize in Mexico. The study concludes that for impact assessment to make a difference, researchers must conduct research and impact assessment in a way that facilitates institutional learning and change.

The case study builds on an ongoing large-scale quantitative research project undertaken by BIDS/IRRI since 1987 originally in 64 unions from 57 districts of Bangladesh. It adds a qualitative research component to examine the impact of modern rice varieties on livelihoods in a structured sample of eight of these villages across a range of favorable and unfavorable contexts.

The study attempts to measure the total benefits from rice varietal improvement research in China and India using variety adoption and performance data over the last two decades. The results indicate that rice varietal improvement research has contributed tremendously to increase in rice production, accounting for 14-23 percent of total production value over the last two decades in both countries.

This paper reviews contemporary empirical and conceptual thinking on the economics of diversity, non- agricultural growth and the rural non-farm economy.

The paper focuses on the relationships between social capital and governance at the regional level from a theoretical and empirical point of view. The results of the case study analysis are referring to selected rural areas in the eastern and western parts of Germany.

The Sierra Business Council guide suggests new ways for rural regions to achieve long-term prosperity. The 148-page guide brings together many of the latest innovations rural communities across North America are using to grow their economies, improve their towns and build their social capital. The product of three years of research, Investing for Prosperity includes 44 case studies and a resource list for more information.