Abstract
In particular in remote rural areas, farm households (still) form a significant part of the local population and thus contribute to the vitality of rural settlements. In addition, also in the more urbanized regions, they are important providers of amenities such as the rural landscape, traditions and tranquillity: often called the ‘rural idyll’, In this chapter, first, we explore the economic significance of farms to rural areas by focusing on the local (economic) integration of farms, compared to the local integration of firms of the same size. Furthermore, we will look at farms and different sources of income, to understand how important agricultural production is for the income of farmers in European rural areas today. Because farmers will remain of great importance for maintaining the landscape and (other) cultural heritage aspects, we see off-farm employment as an important contribution to preserving these amenities. Therefore, we also take a closer look at the factors that affect the choice for off-farm employment.
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Notes
- 1.
We have to keep in mind that the indicator only describes the allocation of sales and purchases of the enterprises that responded to the questionnaire, and not all the enterprises within a certain town.
- 2.
This is in line with results from the ‘Farm Accountancy Data Network’ of LEI, the Hague.
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Appendices
Appendix 4.1: Integration Indicators for All Areas
Appendix 4.2: Absolute Local Expenditures and Sales
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van Leeuwen, E.S. (2010). Farms in a Modern World: Local Integration and Off-Farm Employment. In: Urban-Rural Interactions. Contributions to Economics. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2407-0_4
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