Title: Rural restructuring and local/regional governance in the Baltic States after 1990

Authors: Garri Raagmaa, Viktor Trasberg, Donatas Burneika, Zaiga Krisjane, Taivo Tali

Addresses: Parnu College, University of Tartu, Ringi 35, Parnu 80012, Estonia. ' Faculty of Economics, University of Tartu, Narva 4, Tartu 51009, Estonia. ' Institute of Geology and Geography, Vilnius University, T. Sevcenkos Str. 13, Vilnius 03223, Lithuania. ' Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Raiņa Bulv.19, Riga 1586, Latvia. ' Department of Geography, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu 51014, Estonia

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to discuss the restructuring of primary sector dominant rural areas in the Baltic States with a special focus on local governance and administrative structures. In the theoretical part, we elaborate on a principal transformation model for Baltic rural areas. Despite similar macro-economic processes in all three Baltic States, local and regional governance has developed differently and hypothetically, this has had a different impact on the economic development of regions. We have used statistics, legal documents, small case studies, observations and secondary sources of some more detailed studies for this paper.

Keywords: rural areas; rural restructuring; local governance; regional governance; Baltic States; administrative structures; principal transformation model; economic development; regional development; rural development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJARGE.2009.026225

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2009 Vol.8 No.2/3/4, pp.180 - 204

Published online: 29 May 2009 *

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