Transformation Of Rural Areas Research Articles

Production, consumption and imagination in rural Thailand

The transformation of rural areas from zones of production to arenas of consumption is well established in the literature focusing on the developed world. Less so the developing world. The paper opens by providing a critique of the construction of the rural idyll in Thailand, tracing this back to what is sometimes suggested to be the first piece of Thai literature, an inscription dated to 1292. The discussion then turns to show how this construction of a (imagined) rural past infuses ideas about the present and the policies promoted by local NGOs and others. The consumption of rural Thailand by new classes, tacitly embodying this imagined past, is exemplified by reference to two case studies; a hotel with a ‘working’ rice farm and an elite school. The infiltration of new groups into rural Thailand, with new agendas has, in some instances, created tensions while also providing new opportunities for traditional rural classes. The paper concludes by considering, using Thailand as an exemplar, whether understandings of trajectories of rural change based largely on work undertaken in the North can be applied to countries of the South.

In Situ Urbanization in Rural China: Case Studies from Fujian Province

In most parts of the developing world, the urbanization process has been dominated by rural–urban migration and the growth of existing cities. However, case‐studies in China’s Fujian Province suggest that this process can also be achieved mainly by in situ transformation in rural areas. Such in situ transformation of rural areas has been driven mainly by two forces, the development of township and village enterprises (TVEs) and the inflow of foreign investment; and facilitated by the relevant policies adopted by the Chinese government since 1978. The former has been very effective in the transformation of rural employment structure, while the latter has brought many physical changes to the previously rural landscape. Being mutually complementary, these two ways of rural transformation have not only benefited and urbanized the rural areas, but kept many farmers in their hometowns, replacing the dominant role of rural–urban migration and the growth of existing cities in the urbanization process.

Emigration urbaine, crise économique et mutations des campagnes en Côte d'Ivoire

Urban emigration, economic crisis and transformation of rural areas in Ivory Coast. Though rural depopulation is still dominant in minds about Africa, there is an inversion of migration flows in Ivory Coast : between 1988 and 1993, the urban to rural migrations are dominant. The article tries to explain the causes and the effects of this reversal. Firstly, it presents a typology of the urban emigrants, function of their age and their motivations. Secondly, it examines the urban emigrants' capacity to transform, and even to urbanize the rural Ivory areas.

The Role of Agricultural Cooperatives in Transformation of Rural Areas in Cuba in the 1980s

The Role of Agricultural Cooperatives in Transformation of Rural Areas in Cuba in the 1980s

The nature and role of agricultural cooperative societies in Czechoslovakia

This paper considers the evolution of agricultural cooperative societies, the horizontal and vertical cooperation and the principles of self-financing and cooperative democracy. The relationships between ACS and the State are discussed, particularly in terms of price determination. The productivity results of ACS in Czechoslovakia are evaluated. The role of ACS in scientific technical development is discussed with consideration of the interaction between agricultural enterprises, scientific institutions and industry. Finally, the contribution of ACS to the socioeconomic and cultural transformation of rural areas is evaluated.

17世紀後半から20世紀前半におけるアルザス工業の発達と農村の変容 : 都市・農村の関係を視点として

17世紀後半から20世紀前半におけるアルザス工業の発達と農村の変容 : 都市・農村の関係を視点として