CFP: Entrepreneurship in rural regions (ERSA)

[entrepreneurship-phd at lists.uni-due.de]

From: Friederike Welter [mailto:Friederike.Welter at ihh.hj.se] 
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 10:35 AM

Special session at the
 
ERSA – European Regional Science Association, 50th Congress in Jönköping Sweden
19-22 Aug 2010
 
Entrepreneurship in rural regions
 
You are hereby invited to contribute to this special session at the 2010 ERSA Congress. This special session is organized by The Research Unit for Rural Entrepreneurship and Growth (RUREG), Jönköping International Business School.
 
In many rural regions resource based economic activities have lost a lot of their relative importance in terms of employment, also there has been an exodus of people from the countryside. Rural regions are often characterized by thin markets, in particular labor and product/service markets. The European common agricultural policy (CAP) is shifting focus away from supporting production and productivity in traditional agriculture, and instead increases the support of non-traditional farming activities and rural development in general. This policy shift also entails the usage of more environmentally friendly production methods and also to encourage farmers to engage in markets outside agriculture. The policy shift necessitates the farmers to develop entrepreneurial skills as in any other line of business. The policy comprises all people living in rural regions. Rural regions may therefore be defined, not by its sectoral composition but by socioeconomic characteristics that are peculiar to rural regions. Rural regions may be characterized as regions with low population density and long physical distances to different markets. But rural regions are not a homogenous group of regions, there are great differences in almost all types of measurements. As policy is shifting as outlined above “the entrepreneur” seems to be a vital actor gaining in importance. Thus, understanding entrepreneurship in a rural setting becomes more important when designing a successful policy aiming at rural development.

Within the broad field of entrepreneurship research we welcome contributions along the following themes (and related themes):
 
• Economic dynamics and diversification of the rural economy
• Entrepreneurship and Urban-Rural interdependence
• Social and entrepreneurship capital
• Rural entrepreneurship and sustainable regional development
• Rural Innovation systems
• New sectors/products in the rural economy
• Rural and agricultural policies
 
Deadlines and information:
Abstract submission deadline: January 15, 2010.
Full paper submission deadline: June 1, 2010.
Please submit contributions to: johan.klaesson at jibs.hj.se
For more information about the conference, visit: www.ersa.org