ABSTRACT
Rural areas worldwide experience a special set of problems in acquiring and maintaining such critical services as health care, education, telecommunications, public transportation, and electric power. The discrepancies between rural and more urbanized areas in the quantity, quality, and variety of services are almost everywhere to be seen. Inequality in public service provision is particularly visible in Third World nations where a modern economy and life style have been superimposed on still-dominant traditional patterns. Inequality is pronounced between rural and urban areas, but it is also the rule within urban areas where much of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a minority of the population. The service provision problems of rural areas can be viewed in both absolute and relative terms. Contemporary evidence strongly indicates that poorer rural residents in both advanced and Third World nations are well aware of their disadvantaged position as regards many public services.
