DOI: n/a
Abstract
Technical infrastructure, consisting of a set of equipment or facilities, is an important element of rural development, determining the proper operation of production facilities and households.
The objects under consideration are particularly the water supply networks, sewerage facilities and roads. The aim of the paper at hand is to present the state of development of various elements of the technical infrastructure in rural areas and the socio-economic aspects of its development. Particular attention is paid to regional and spatial differences in local nfrastructure. The research hypothesis was formulated as follows: “a properly shaped technical infrastructure is directly linked to the demographic and financial situation of local units in question, it affects the living and working conditions of the population and, indirectly, creates a potential incentive to develop non-agricultural economic activities.”
The conditions for the infrastructure development of the rural areas were analyzed both on the individual level of selected local units and on the aggregate country level.
The basic research population included the urban-rural communes and the rural communes in Poland. Overall there are 1,587 such units, which represent 64% of all communes in Poland. The analysis covers the period 2000-2009. Statistical material was provided by the Regional Data Bank of the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS). Rigorous econometrical analysis included cluster analysis and various regression techniques.