AGRICULTURAL SECTOR TRANSFORMATION IN SELECTED COUNTRIES OF SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

Abstract

Governing the process of economic transformation is one of the most prominent issues arising since the fall of the Iron Curtain. After the successful transition model of the Central and Eastern European countries and their EU accession, the main anchors of the EU enlargement are directed into the South Eastern part of the continent. Most obviously, the EU enlargement is entering into the new phase of its expansion. In this paper we evaluate the state of transformation in the agricultural sector of the potential EU members comprising countries constituting the South Eastern Europe (the Western Balkans), and Turkey. We analyze whether the significant transitional changes occurred in the agricultural sector in observed countries. The main areas of our interest involve the comparative analysis of the state of economic transformation and the income convergence, the economic importance of agriculture in the potential EU Members, impact of economic transformation on the agricultural assets, agricultural policy implications, investigation of consumption patterns and poverty prevalence.

Keywords

• EU enlargement
• economic transformation
• agricultural sector