Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Dufek Author-Workplace-Name: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic Title: The development of the marriage rate, the divorce rate, the birth rate and the death rate Abstract: The article aims to analyze the development of the basic characteristics of the demographic dynamics in the CR in urban areas divided according to size in 1993-2004 and to express the changes in the development of the natural increase. Urban areas in the CR were divided into 3 groups according to their size (size-related groups): urban areas of up to 2 000 inhabitants - a country type, urban areas with 2 000 to 10 000 inhabitants - a transition type, urban areas with more than 10 000 inhabitants - towns. In 2004, there were 26% of inhabitants living in the country group, 20% in the transition group and 54% in towns. There was a decline in marriage rate in all the groups; in the country, with its higher level, the decline was more moderate. The divorce rate shows a moderate increase except 1999, when it dramatically fell thanks to the legislation. The divorce rate was the highest in towns and the lowest in the country. The birth rate continued its sharp decline in urban areas of all sizes during the first four years of the researched period, then it levelled off, and it has even been slightly rising in the last years. It was considerably lower in bigger towns than in the other two groups, which had practically an identical development. There was a kind of balance at the end of the period. The death rate was generally going down; it was the highest in the country areas, however, it was approximating the values in the other two groups. The dramatic fall of the natural increase levelled off and it also showed a moderate rise. Trends are expressed with polynomial functions. The article presents the characteristics development in graphs and the reasons for changes are being commented upon. Keywords: the Czech Republic, size-related groups of urban areas, marriage rate, divorce rate, birth rate, death rate, natural increase, development Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 1-8 Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/853-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/853-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-200701-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:53:y:2007:i:1:id:853-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: H. Hudečková Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: A. Ševčíková Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Svatý Jan pod Skalou: Case study about the integration of small rural settlements Abstract: Like other small rural settlements, Svatý Jan pod Skalou is dealing with financial and personnel problems within the exertion of public administration. That is why there is necessary to think about the potential integration strategies in a way, which would enable the commune to keep advantages of its own strengths and to solve disadvantages that hinder its future development. Methodical procedures of this paper are compounded of two parts - analytical situation study and formulation of preliminary options of integration strategies of the municipality, and their preliminary evaluation. Those parts also include a proposal of the evaluation tool of the selected strategies. With regard to the proposed strategies (integration with the neighboring village Hostím; joining the microregion - Local Action Group; integration with one of the near-by villages), it seems that the first option is the most beneficial, eventually in the combination with the second option. Those options would ensure a successful development of the municipality as a tourist location on the basis of the endogenous approach to rural development Keywords: administrative integration of municipalities, endogenous rural development, rural municipalities, microregion, local action group Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 9-20 Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/854-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/854-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-200701-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:53:y:2007:i:1:id:854-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Cmejrek Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Citizens local political participation in the Czech Republic: rural-urban comparison Abstract: The Velvet Revolution in November 1989 in the former Czechoslovakia opened the way to the renewal of the democratic political system. One of the most visible aspects of the Czech political development consisted in the renewal of the essential functions of elections and political parties. On the local level, however, the political process - as well as in other post-communist countries - continued to be for a long time influenced by the remains of the former centralized system wherein the local administration used to be subjected to the central state power. Municipal elections took hold in these countries, however, the local government remained in the embryonic state and a certain absence of real political and economic decision-making mechanism on the local level continued to show. The public administration in the Czech Republic had to deal with the changes in the administrative division of the state, the split of the Czechoslovak federation as well as the fragmentation of municipalities whose number increased by 50 percent. Decision making mechanisms on the local and regional level were suffering from the incomplete territorial hierarchy of public administration and from the unclear division of power between the state administration and local administration bodies. Only at the end of the 1990s, the public administration in the Czech Republic started to get a more integrated and specific shape. Citizens participation in the political process represents one of the key issues of representative democracy. The contemporary democracy has to face the decrease in voter turnout and the low interest of citizens to assume responsibility within the political process. The spread of democratising process following the fall of the iron curtain should not overshadow the risk of internal weakness of democracy. The solution should be looked for in more responsible citizenship and citizens political participation. The degree of political participation is considered (together with political pluralism) to be the key element of representative democracy in general terms, as well as of democratic process on the local and regional level. The objective of this paper is to describe the specifics of citizens local political participation in the Czech Republic and to show the differences between rural and urban areas. The paper concentrates on voting and voter turnout but deals also with other forms of citizens political participation. Keywords: local politics, political parties, citizens political participation, voter turnout, e-government, e-democracy Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 21-29 Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/856-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/856-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-200701-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:53:y:2007:i:1:id:856-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: L. Kolman Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Michálek Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: H. Chamoutová Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: K. Chamoutová Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Müllerová Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Work motivation and the municipality size Abstract: The article shows the results of the grant project of Czech Science Foundation 406/03/0896, which focused on the survey of work motivation and quality of working life issues in the Czech country. The results concern an analysis of variation and a range of coefficients and show statistically significant differences in motivational coefficients in sets that differ in the respondents size of residence. The main aim of the survey was to find out if it is possible to identify the differences in work motivation between people from large cities and people from small municipalities, namely between inhabitants of the Prague metropolitan area and smaller municipalities placed near to the national boundary. The survey was conducted by means of the EDMK questionnaire, which is described elsewhere (see references). Some specific questions were added by the present authors. Statistical analysis of the data obtained resulted in the findings, as follows: (1) questionnaire scales used are sufficiently reliable (as proved by the Cronbachs' alphas statistics); (2) statistically significant differences were identified in the motivational patterns of the Prague Metropolitan Area and small municipalities inhabitants; (3) the quality of working life in Czechia was found as a rather low; it results in lower perceived responsibility and job involvement found in the whole sample of Czech responses. Keywords: motivation, working life quality, EDMK, Czech countryside Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 30-35 Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/845-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/845-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-200701-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:53:y:2007:i:1:id:845-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Vavrejnova Author-Workplace-Name: Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: S. Lüpsik Author-Workplace-Name: Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Some comparisons across Central and East European countries in terms the rural population living standard Abstract: In this paper, we describe and compare the employment, wages and prices in the agricultural and other rural sectors in Central and East European countries. Together, we point out the lack of statistical information limiting the possibilities of the comparison. We comment the marked decrease in both production and employment in these sectors during the transition period. Together with low wages and the unfavourable development of the relation between the purchase and producer prices, this situation causes the retardation in the growth of the living standard of the rural population, in comparison with other sectors of the national economy. Therefore, the necessity of restructuring agricultural production arises, and first of all, the multifunctional character of the agriculture and the development of non-agricultural activities must be supported by the rural municipalities. It concerns, of course in different rates, all discussed countries. Keywords: rural population, employment, income and price level, living standard Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 36-44 Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/846-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/846-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-200701-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:53:y:2007:i:1:id:846-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: L. Zagata Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Bio cash-cow? Context and content of Czech organic farming Abstract: This work presents results of a qualitative empirical study on practices of farmers participating in the Czech system of organic agriculture (ecological agriculture). Growth of this sector has been seen almost solely in positive terms, without questioning its content. However, Czech organic agriculture does not stem from the organic movement as is the case in Western Europe and therefore it is necessary to ask what it draws on and to discover, with regard to its nature, whether it can meet the expectations stated in official policies. This paper briefly describes the development of organic farming in other countries and the current problem of its conventionalization. The research study then shows evidence that organic farming is not adopted only because of state's subsidies, but also due to the specific value orientation of farmers, despite the history and the lack of tradition of these specific practices in the Czech Republic. Keywords: organic movement, ecologic farming, motives, conventionalization, bioproducts Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 45-53 Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/993-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/993-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-200701-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:53:y:2007:i:1:id:993-AGRICECON