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The article deals with the issue of rural population decline in Poland in 1995-2017. The aim of the study was to present the phenomenon of depopulation involving a decrease in the number of people living in rural areas in Poland at the local level. Based on the literature, the potential effects of depopulation on local development were indicated. The data of the Central Statistical Office and the results of own research carried out in three rural communes in 2019 were used. The occurrence of regional differentiation of rural depopulation processes in Poland was found. Analyzing the phenomenon at the local level, it was found that as much as 38.6% of rural communes were characterized by depopulation (a loss of over 5% of the population), including for 10.7% of communes, the population decline in the analyzed period was more than 15%. These areas can be considered as problem areas. A particularly unfavorable situation occurs in eastern Poland and the Opolskie Voivodeship. There was a positive correlation between the loss of population and the development of own revenues of communes' budgets. Studies show that the phenomenon of depopulation is mainly caused by a negative natural increase, which was preceded by a migration outflow associated with the lack of jobs in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the considerations taken up in the article is the operation of local action groups in Poland, which were established in rural areas under the Leader approach. Their functioning is an expression of a specific EU policy approach to local development with the active participation of local communities. As part of local action groups, cooperation between the social, economic and public sectors is undertaken, which is an innovative approach in the development policy towards rural areas in Poland. The partners of local action groups using local development strategies and financial instruments achieve development goals in designated areas. The aim of the article is to determine the significance of actions undertaken by local action groups (LAGs) in the 2007-2013 (2015) perspective for the socio-economic development of the area in which they operate. Detailed goals include: (1) to determine the amount of public financial resources aimed at supporting the LAGs activity and indicating their regional differentiation; (2) to indicate what areas of life in the social and economic sphere were supported by LAGs; (3) to determine the effects of LAGs' activities on rural development in the opinion of residents. The report uses the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (31 Dec 2015) and findings from the RDP 2007- 2013 evaluation study from 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human living conditions are the opportunity to meet his everyday needs in the field of housing, trade, gastronomy, living services, health care, education, culture, leisure. In order to offer a new perspective on living conditions, we have linked them to rural social infrastructure. The purpose of the article is to present of the ways of defining the concept of living conditions indicated in the literature. To achieve the main goal, the following research tasks were formulated: (1) to indicate of similarities between definitions and different elements (2) propose a new approach to defining living conditions (from a local point of view, for rural areas). These questions guide our research work in order to gain a better understanding about how living conditions in rural areas develop. The main research methods were used: analysis and generalization of scientific literature and documents, abstraction method, logical and systematical reasoning, graphic presentation of comparison, abstracts and other methods. The research results disclosed that the living conditions could be highly affected by other spheres of life; highly diverse requires considering the subjective perceptions and assessments of the people who live and work in these rural area. There is a direct link between quality of life and living conditions. A new approach to defining living conditions in rural areas is to relate living conditions to the social infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural space in the Baltic Sea East Coast States - Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - comprises a significant part of the territories of these states. It occupies more than half of each state's territory and employs more than a third of labour market participants. For these reasons, the future prospects of the rural space in each of the states is an important issue in designing their smart growth strategies. Smart growth is determined not only by objective circumstances but also by local authorities, the activity of various public organisations and the readiness of residents to act under the guidance of the mentioned formations. The present research focuses on these formations, which may be assumed to be performance agents, and on their influence on smart growth and the viability of rural areas. The research employed the survey method - a survey of experts was conducted (n=171 in Latvia; n=163 in Lithuania; n=111 in Poland, carried out during 2016) to assess each performance agent's contribution to smart growth. Summarising the expert opinions allows performing a comprehensive comparison in terms of similarities and differences in evaluating each agent's performance in each country surveyed and defining primary objectives to be achieved in order to improve the smart growth process for each performance agent under the particular conditions of their country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the implementation of the LEADER programme in Poland. The aim of the paper was to present the influence of the LEADER programme 2007 - 2013 on rural areas development taking into account its objectives. This topic is current in the context of the Rural Development Programme 2007 - 2013 evaluation and search for effective tools for supporting rural areas. The results of research conducted in 2016 among residents and local action groups are presented. Firstly, the LEADER programme had little impact on the possibility of finding work outside the agriculture. Secondly, the realized projects have contributed to the improvement of the quality of life of the residents in rural areas, especially when it comes to meeting the needs of tourism and leisure. The programme was of great importance in underpinning social capital in the countryside, especially its behavioral and bonding dimension. It is very significant taking into account the low level of social capital in rural areas in Poland. An overall level of activity of rural residents and other entities increased, so as the propensity to engage in joint initiatives and the level of trust. The observed effects of the LEADER programme may in the future contribute significantly to the endogenous development of rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to present the development of agricultural producer groups in Mazovia - region in Central Poland with capital of the Voivodeship in Warsaw. Data and literature analysis, interviews and descriptive methods were used. In the first part the authors present theoretical background of cooperation in agriculture based on social capital. The second part presents the main results of the research: the quantitative development of producer groups in the period 2007-2017, the structure of agricultural products produced by the groups and their legal forms. Currently most of groups operate as limited liability companies and co-operatives. Also the main benefits and barriers concerning creation and development of agricultural producer groups were identified. The main barriers were unwillingness to cooperate, mistrust, and high administrative and legal burdens. On the basis of the study - in order to help develop agricultural groups - it is recommended to strengthen social capital in the rural areas (especially important is overcoming mental barriers and development of trust), educate farmers (management, accounting, etc.) and promote good practice. The conclusions of the study may be applicable in countries where producer groups' development is low (as Lithuania). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building and developing social capital is regarded as a major factor underpinning the development of rural areas, while the LEADER approach to rural development has been found to have a great potential for creation and use of social capital. Therefore, the aim of the study is to explore the LEADER approach in building social capital in rural areas of Latvia and Poland, based on the thematic analysis of the implemented projects during 2007-2013. To achieve the objective, the study explores the introduction of the approach in Latvia and Poland, as well as presents project case studies for social capital formation in Latvia and Poland, by using appropriate materials and research methods. Projects carried out under the LEADER 2007-2013 in Latvia and Poland affect rural communities regarding social capital on different levels at the same time: build trust, create bonds around common values and raise citizens' involvement in joint initiatives. There are examples of projects that contribute to the building of structural social capital, relational social capital and cognitive social capital in Latvia and Poland. Overall, the thematic analysis of the realized projects in Latvia and Poland reveals that in relation to the social capital they have improved the possibilities for gathering and socialization, for participation in interest groups and associations. Never before in rural areas of Latvia and Poland there has been such a form of cooperation of different local actors, applying the bottom-up approach. Studies show that this approach works well in practice and brings the intended effects to rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the issue of rural development in Poland. The aim of the article is to determine the dynamics of change in the level of socio-economic development of rural communes in Poland (NUTS 5) in the years 2004 - 2014 through verification of the hypothesis of the existence of beta-convergence. The beta-convergence approach is verified by econometric modelling techniques. The statistical data came from the Local Data Bank (LDB) of the Central Statistical Office (CSO). Based on the analysis of changes in the development level of the rural areas in Poland it was stated that there is convergence. However, the strength of the convergence process is different depending on the dimensions of development. It reported a strong relationship between the average growth rate of aggregate indicators relating to the financial dimension. In other dimensions, such as labour market, living conditions, health and social care, education, demography and culture, it showed the occurrence of slow convergence processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]