To establish the significance of Henry Bernstein's theoretical work on the dynamics of agrarian class struggles in Africa, this paper discusses two important political debates in which he has been both observer and participant, and that have oriented much of the subsequent Marxist work done in Africa on agrarian change. The first was the heated discussion begun over 40 years ago around Nyerere's ‘African socialism’ and the failures of the ujamaa policy of villagization. The second is the still unsettled debate around programmes of redistributive land reform in South Africa.

The objective of the paper is to survey the state of knowledge of economists and agriculturaleconomists at the onset of transition and seventeen years later. The "standard" economicreasoning in the early nineties were based on neoclassical economics and documented was hasbeen termed the Washington Consensus. It is shown that the discrepancy between expectationsand reality as well as the evolution of institutional economics has challenged economists.

In the administrative territories with small number of population, deficiency of infrastructure and resources for municipalities’ function can be observed. According to this, already in the 90ties, reform of local governments was initiated in Latvia. The cabinet, basing on principles of local governments in European Charter (1985), accepted conception of the reform. The Law 'On Administrative-Territorial Division Project of local governments' was carried in 2006 but rules on administrative division of local governments were issued in 2008.

In the year 2000 the government of Zimbabwe launched the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) as part of its on-going land reform and resettlement programme. The main premise of the programme is to address the racially skewed land distribution pattern inherited at independence in 1980. While the programme has been accompanied by an overall reduction in agricultural production which has created widespread food insecurity throughout the country, empirical research on the impact of the programme on the agricultural productivity of its beneficiaries has been limited.

This paper examines the preservation of farmland through purchasable development rights. In a comparison of the estimated costs and benefits associated with the development of open space from 1982 to 1992, we show that these programs may provide a net benefit to society. An econometric model is employed to address the question of what factors explain both the creation of these programs and the magnitude of farmland preservation.

Aim of the paper: in order to create the new most appropriate model of rural development in Lithuania, it is necessary to analyse specific situation, created under the influence of the last century historical events and its long-term consequences. Lithuania, as well as other Baltic states, has created the agrarian sector under the very complicated economical, social, and cultural circumstances. Each Baltic state (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) had some specific features of rural development, which were formed during the last century.

The specificity and uniqueness of land as a land appraisal object are disclosed. Principles of land appraisal are considered, their interrelation and dependence on land use features are shown.

Розкрито специфіку і унікальність землі як обєкта оцінки. Розглянуті принципи оцінки земельних ділянок, показаний їх взаємозвязок і залежність від особливостей використання землі.