'Becoming a member of the European Union is one of the most important objectives of the Czech Republic for the coming years, both for the government, and for the Czech society as a whole.' With the exception of a few traditional Czech products, the Czech Republic is not a major exporter of agricultural goods due to its land-locked position and relatively poor product differentiation. Since the 'velvet revolution' in 1989, agricultural production has declined. To conform to European Union standards for accession, the Czech Republic needs to make some adjustments. This report reviews the...

The world confronts major challenges in rural development as it enters the 21st century. Most of the world's poverty is in rural areas, and will remain so, yet there is a pro-urban bias in most countries' development strategies, and in their allocation of public investment funds. Rural people, and ethnic minorities, in particular, have little political clout to influence public policy to attract more public investment in rural areas. This document outlines a holistic and spatial approach that tackles some tough and long-ignored issues and also addresses old issues in new ways. The revised...

In Agriculture in Transition: Land Policies and Evolving Farm Structures in Post Soviet Countries authors Zvi Lerman, Csaba Csaki, and Gershon Feder study the land policies and farming structures of these newly emerging nations as components of institutional change in the rural sector - change from a centralized rural economy to a market-oriented economy.

This volume presents a set of pedagogical lectures that introduce particle physics beyond the standard model and particle cosmology to advanced graduate students.