In the transition process from a centrally planned to a market economy the financial sector has a vitally important role to play. Nevertheless, transformation research has largely neglected rural finance and its link to the development of agriculture and the rural economy. This book intends to fill this gap. It addresses such questions as how and in what sequence can rural finance be restructured, how can it support rural enterprise efficiency and help break the cycle of enterprise inefficiency, illiquidity and over-indebtedness, how can the typical constraints of uncertain land-ownership for...