ABSTRACT
Rural development in Sweden occurs more frequently through non-agricultural projects and activities that form part of the third sector or service-based economy. The non-agricultural economic activities analysed here are household and community-related in the sense described by McGraham, with a focus on two of the four types in his description: outside home tasks' and service supporting communities and their members'. The low population density and the spread of settlements over larger areas create problems for rural and economic development, for example, long transport and travel distances to workplaces make production and distribution of goods and services difficult and more expensive. In the development of the rural economy in the region a lot of public and national governmental agencies are involved, but the important actors and activities to be analysed are the region as an administrative and economic unit, the local community, and the household.
