Agricultural Economics, 2011 (vol. 57), issue 6

Rural development in the context of agricultural "green" subsidies: Czech farmers' responses

Miloslav LAPKA, Eva CUDLÍNOVÁ, J. Sanford RIKOON, Martin PĚLUCHA, Viktor KVETOŇ

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2011, 57(6):259-271 | DOI: 10.17221/4/2011-AGRICECON  

The study compares the role of agricultural green subsidies in rural development of the Czech Republic before and after joining the European Union (EU) in 2004. We use the perspective of multifunctional agriculture and contribute to the research on the contemporary trends in Czech agriculture by using the data collected through surveys in 2000 and 2006, as well as 2008 comparative statistical support, to ask if there have been significant changes and improvements in farmers' evaluations of these programs. The empirical case study results show some positive changes connected with the participation in the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). In spite of...

Landscape and tourism potential in the protected landscape areas

Jana MIKULEC, Michaela ANTOUŠKOVÁ

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2011, 57(6):272-278 | DOI: 10.17221/16/2011-AGRICECON  

Reasons to travel and to visit concrete destinations in the Czech Republic are especially the nature and cultural/historical sightseeing. The presented paper specializes on the first reason and it studies the specific landscape features together with the primary tourism potentials. It focuses on the protected landscape area of Kokořínsko, which is divided into 6 landscape units according to their landscape character. In these landscape units, the authors study the primary tourism potential and the elements of natural, cultural-historical and aesthetical characterization of landscape. The relation between the tourism potential and the landscape features...

What is the importance of social capital in Czech agriculture? An analysis of selected components

Pavel POSPĚCH, Daniela SPĚŠNÁ

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2011, 57(6):279-287 | DOI: 10.17221/163/2010-AGRICECON  

The paper examines the role of social capital in Czech agricultural sector. It is argued that social capital, just like economic capital, can be employed as a resource for the improvement of economic performance of agricultural enterprises. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of primary data and an analysis of the selected indicators of social capital is presented. These include personal social networks, membership in agricultural associations and access to sources of information. Following the results, it is argued that the presence of informal personal ties displays a stronger relationship to the entrepreneurial success than formal membership in...

Rural development and regional disparities of the new EU Member States

Josef ABRHÁM

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2011, 57(6):288-296 | DOI: 10.17221/6/2011-AGRICECON  

The integration of Central and Eastern Europe into both the European and the world economy was in the last decade associated with a relatively high growth of gross domestic product and with a gradual increase in the economic level. The processes of convergence at the national level, however, were accompanied by an unbalanced spatial development. The paper analyzes, on the basis of the empirical statistical data, the impacts of the first years of the membership in the European Union on the development of regional differentiation and on development disparities between rural and urban regions. The evaluation of regional development is performed in regional...

Social roles of farmwomen: The case of Croatia

Anita Silvana ILAK PERŠURIĆ

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2011, 57(6):297-307 | DOI: 10.17221/41/2010-AGRICECON  

The article is based on a field research on family farms in Croatia. On a sample of 350 farmwomen their social roles were analysed. The keys of the gender division of typical feminine tasks such as household tasks, family care tasks and the position in the family and on farm was analysed. Through statistical data processing in multivariate matrixes the latent matrix of independent variables: family, progessional position and farm economic status showed significant effects on matrix of dependent variables traditional feminine work, family care tasks and expectations of women hindering farmwoman's possibilities for off farm employment.

Matthew Reed: Rebels for the soil: The rise of the global organic food and farming movement

L. Zagata

Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2011, 57(6):308-309 | DOI: 10.17221/44/2011-AGRICECON