ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with Rural Resources and broader issues of the Rural Economy. It provides rural resource issues which considers the way in which the structure of property rights shapes the multiple uses to which land is put. The broad framework of rural policy has remained largely unchanged since the war, though specific policies have undergone considerable modification. The book defines the nature of the rural economy as a complex, open system and explores the implications of an evolutionary perspective for the design of sustainable rural development policies. It also considers the concept of community and examines how the European Communities LEADER programme has sought to promote a bottom up rural development strategy in preference to traditional top down approaches. The book discusses the extent to which the intangible qualities of the countryside might be exploited through the marketing process.
