ABSTRACT

This volume represents the result of almost two decades of trans-Atlantic collaborative development of a policy research paradigm, the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies program. Over this period dozens of scientists from different disciplines but with a common interest in rural issues and policy have collaboratively studied the policies in North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.

A core element of the book is the idea and practice of comparative research and analysis – what can be learned from comparisons, how and why policies vary in different contexts, and what lessons might or might not be “transferable” across borders. It provides skills for the use of comparative methods as important tools to analyze the functioning of strategies and specific policy interventions in different contexts and a holistic approach for the management of resources in rural regions. It promotes innovation as a tool to valorize endogenous resources and empower local communities and offers case studies of rural policy in specific contexts. The book largely adopts a territorial approach to rural policy. This means the book is more interested in rural regions, their people and economies, and in the policies that affect them, than in rural sectors, and sectoral policies per se.

The audience of the book is by definition international and includes students attending courses in agricultural and rural policy, rural and regional studies, and natural resource management; lecturers seeking course material and case studies to present to their students in any of the courses listed above; professionals working in the field of rural policy; policy-makers and civil servants at different levels seeking tools to better understand rural policy both at the local and global scale and to better recognize and comprehend how to transfer best practices.

part I|2 pages

Introduction to comparative rural policy studies

chapter 2|16 pages

Comparing ruralities

The case of Canada and the United States

chapter 3|13 pages

What is rural?

The historical evolution of rural typologies in Europe

chapter 5|11 pages

Why comparative rural policy studies?

Comparative theory and methods

chapter 7|11 pages

Policy outcomes of decentralized public programs

Implications for rural policy

chapter 8|10 pages

Co-constructing rural futures

Understanding place-based development and policy

part II|2 pages

People and society

part III|2 pages

Resources and environment

chapter 17|12 pages

Environmental policy

What are the options?

chapter 23|11 pages

Building sustainable regional food systems

Policies and support

chapter 25|11 pages

Fish as food

Policies affecting food sovereignty for rural Indigenous communities in North America

part V|2 pages

Rural policy reviews

part VI|2 pages

Comparative rural policy case studies

chapter 36|7 pages

A non-profit as a policy actor?

A case study of the Breds Treasure Beach Foundation in Jamaica

chapter 37|7 pages

Post-Soviet rural areas towards European integration

The difficult transition of Moldova

chapter 38|7 pages

“Why local governments?”

An ongoing debate in rural New Brunswick, Canada

chapter 43|8 pages

Integral mountain development in Spain

An historical review