The course introduces to basics in rural economics and policy. The lectures will provide essential knowledge on farm economics, land market economics, multifunctionality in agricultural production and on the motivation and main characteristics of current rural development policies.
Rocchi B. 2018. Economia e politica dello sviluppo rurale. Firenze, mimeo.
Bellini G., Lipizzi F., Cosentino F., Giordano P. 2013. Atlante dell’Agricoltura Italiana. Roma, Istat (only for the interview on the main characteristics of Italian agriculture of non attending students)
MIPAAF 2010. Atlante del territorio rurale. Nuove geografie per le politiche di sviluppo rurale 3a edizione. Caire Urbanistica, Roma (only for the interview on the main characteristics of Italian agriculture of non attending students)
Learning Objectives
Knowledge: basics of farm economics, land economics, externalities and public goods, mutifunctionality in agriculture, concept of rurality, rural development policy.
Competence: Analysis of agricultural systems and land market; analysis of public goods production in agriculture; description of rural development process
Skills: Understanding the economic decisions in agriculture and the role of agriculture in rural management and development processes
Prerequisites
Courses required: none
Courses recommended: none
Skills recommended: basic knowledge in descriptive statistics, basic data processing with spreadsheet for data processing, map construction with GIS technologies, use of on line applications, download and installation of software
Teaching Methods
Total hours of the course (including the time spent in attending lectures, seminars, private study, examinations, etc...): 150 (= 6x25)
Hours reserved to private study and other individual formative activities: 100
Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 24
Contact hours for: Laboratory (hours): 0
Contact hours for: Laboratory-field/practice (hours): 20
Seminars (hours): 2
Stages: 0
Intermediate examinations: 4
Frequency of lectures, practice and lab: Recommended
Teaching tools: PC laboratory, e-learning platform of the University of Florence
Further information
Office hours:
Monday 8 - 12
Type of Assessment
Classroom presentation of group works on Italian farming systems (for students not attending to lectures: interview on the main characteristics of Italian agriculture): 40%
Final written examination: 60%.
Course program
LECTURES. Enterpreneurship, enterpreneur and the firm. Firms and holdings in agriculture. Analysis of performances: the economic budget of the agricultural holding. Economic analysis of income distribution at the holding level. Land market in rural areas. Externalities and public good in agriculture. Multifunctionality in agriculture. Rural development policy. The 2014-2020 Rural Development Program in Tuscany
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES. Use of the explorative spatial analysis software Geoda. Analysis of Italian agricultural systems using data from the 6th Census of Agriculture for Italy