Rural development in Europe: a research frontier for agricultural economists

In this article it is argued that rural development analysis is a research theme to be developed in Europe for both scientific reasons and its contribution to policy decision making. It begins by describing and analysing what is at stake in significantly extending our profession's interest toward rural economics, understood as the economics of rural areas. We then show that this extension of the field of research has two sides: concern to promote knowledge but also concern to contribute to an economic policy project focused on rural development. Finally, we examine the issues rural development poses for economic research and conclude with some remarks on future research avenues.