PL
Zmiany strukturalne na obszarach wiejskich analizowane z uwzględnieniem trzech stref - zurbanizowanej, typowo wiejskiej i peryferyjnej. Analiza obejmuje zmianę struktury funkcjonalnej wsi, tendencje zmian demograficznych i społecznych, rozbudowę gospodarki nierolniczej na wsi oraz reformę wspólnej polityki rolnej wobec obszarów wiejskich w krajach Wspólnoty Europejskiej.
EN
The author presents the changes in the economic structure of rural areas in West-Europe, mainly in the countries of the European Community. The analysis concerns three main types of rural areas, namely: urbanized zones, typical agricultural zones, as well as peripheral and discriminated zones. These zones differ one from another, according to the degree of their functional differentiation and according to the intensity of their economic development, the latter being connected, in the first line, with enlargement of the rural labour market and with consolidation of non-agricultural functions in scope of both production and services. The development and differentiation of farms contributed, in the seventies and eighties, to the restraint of migration movements and even, in some periods, to a temporary inversion of their trend. Despite a low birth-rate in some countries, the growth of population in the countryside was observed. However, in the eighties this growth showed a certain reduction. The changes in the countryside were accompanied by the trends towards decentralization of decision-making in the problems of rural areas. The development of non-agricultural activities in the countryside consisted, in the first line, in foundation of small and mean-sized enterprises dealing with production or services, intended mainly for regional markets, in development of rest-houses and housing for rural population and in enlargement of transport and communication network. An increasing comprehension of the role of rural environment and of its ecological and cultural values was observed. The reform of a common agrarian policy undertaken in that time comprizes various aspects of the countryside development. Apart from a new organization of agricultural markets, some financial means have been provided for intensified environmental protection, afforestation of land and for the system of granting early pensions. In this new phase of the agrarian policy concerning the structural problems, a concentration of means for low developed regions has been provided, accompanied by active co-operation of local societies. The present changes in the agrarian policy tend towards creation of two sectors in agriculture - an effective directed to the market and a social one.