RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY INCENTIVES ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SELECTED EU COUNTRIES

The importance of entrepreneurship for the growth of the economy brings little of doubts; however, the majority of all studies until now focuses on country's or region's entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial policy rather than on specific industry's entrepreneurship policy. The same applies to rural economy and development policy and there is the lack of comparative studies on rural policies aimed at supporting entrepreneurship in rural areas. In order to fill this gap, the comparative analysis of Rural Development Programmes 2014-2020 in selected EU countries is envisaged in order to answer the question how rural entrepreneurial policies in high income and low income EU countries differ. Thus, the object of the research is rural entrepreneurship policy in selected EU countries. The main goal of the research is to carry a comparative analysis of rural entrepreneurship policy measures in selected EU countries and to draw the links between income level in countries and implemented rural development policy in these countries. The results of the analysis reveal that in high-income EU countries entrepreneurship policy is targeted and aimed at addressing knowledge and cooperation issues, while in lower income EU countries emphasis is still put on financial assistance. The validity of results is limited because other factors of entrepreneurship environment, the effects of entrepreneur personality and potential synergies among these factors were left out of the scope of the analysis.