Factors of social and economic rural development (PDF)

Master's Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Sociology - Economy and Industry, grade: 1,3, Friedensau Adventist University, language: English, abstract: In 2006, while spending my holidays in Romania, I read a newspaper article which reported that the village Glod, in the county of Maramures despite the bad infrastructure and unsealed roads, has a high number of cars reported to the number of inhabitants in comparison to other villages with asphalted streets and better infrastructure. I was surprised to read such news about the village where I grew up and I lived until the age of 12, and I asked myself what could be the reasons of this fact. I began to compare the villages of Maramures and I observed certain particularities regarding the different stages of development.
Later being again in Germany for continuing my study of International Social Sciences I realised that researching the causes of development in Glod would be a really interesting issue for my M.A. graduation thesis. Is Glod generally more developed than other villages of Maramures or are there particular reasons for the increased number of cars in the village? What are the factors playing a role in the developmental process of Glod? Which social security schemes are there in Romania? Which ones are functioning in Glod? How is the impact of transition on the citizens in rural areas and what future perspectives have the people living in the villages of Maramures? Are the rural areas less affected by the transition than the urban space in Romania? Is Glod more developed than other villages of Maramures because of the placement, being situated away from the main street having the possibility of developing some internal, specific strategies? (What actually would be against the rule: more developed are usually localities situated centrally, with a good infrastructure). The size of the village was also taken into consideration that could have a certain positive influence on the development of the village: a relatively small village with households situated side by side where everybody knows everybody and many activities are done together from related or neighbouring groups of people. The close relationships between the people could be a key to development of the village too.
By means of triangulation of more research methods (interviews, self-completion questionnaires, household assessment, literature research, indirect observation) that will be presented in detail in the first chapter, I tried to find answers to these (research) questions and to confirm or infirm the set hypothesises.