Influence of the local government institutions on rural development through institutional dependence model

Savivalda, kaip vietinių gyventojų interesams atstovaujanti ir visuomeninį, politinį gyvenimą organizuojanti struktūra, užima svarbią vietą daugumos valstybių politinėse sistemose. Ji suvokiama kaip žemiausia, pilietinei visuomenei artimiausia politinės sistemos teritorinė grandis. Vietos savivaldos institucijos – savivaldybės ir seniūnijos geriausiai žino su kokiomis problemomis kasdieniame gyvenime susiduria gyventojai. Šios institucijos bando prisitaikyti prie pokyčių. Mokslininkų uždavinys – ištirti konkrečias vietos bendruomenių problemas ir poreikius, įvertinti pokyčių galimybes, sprendimų priėmimo ir vykdymo būdus savivaldos organizacijose, pateikti pasiūlymus.Self-government as a structure, representing the interests of the local residents and organising social and political life, plays an important role in many political systems of the country. It is perceived as the lowest and the closest territorial link of the political system to the civil society. Self-government institutions such as the municipality and eldership are aware of the problems faced by the local residents in everyday life. Local self-government institutions are trying to adapt to the changes which motivate to investigate specific community issues, opportunities and needs of the inevitable development of the area. Lithuanian rural development is inseparable from the long-term development of the European Union's strategic directions and priorities. Recently, local authorities have become significant participants in the rural development. Self-government as a structure, representing the interests of the local residents and organising social and political life, plays an important role in many political systems of the country. It is perceived as the lowest and the closest territorial link of the political system to the civil society. It helps the citizens express their interests, control how those interests are being implemented and, at the same time, influence other institutions of the country. The relevance of the topic is related to the fact that the ever-changing environment provides people with new opportunities, but it causes a lot of problems as well. The changes have radically modified the concept of local development and activities: from a centralised model of transition to exogenous and endogenous decentralised model. The latter is based on local initiatives, resources, and innovations. The European rural development policy provides new functions for rural areas such as economic, social, environmental and territorial. The object of the research – influence of local authorities on rural development. The aim of the research is to carry out the analysis of the influence of local government on rural development to provide recommendations for the strengthening. The following methods have been used: the application of the scientific literature, data analysis and synthesis, systematic, context and comparative analysis, visualisation methods. The main conclusions of the research. Local self-government is one of the major elements of the country, which acts in a given territory. A contemporary democratic country can not be secured without a local government system. The more society is democratic, the more local self government is developed. The main aim of local authorities is to contribute to the public policy development and implementation, to solve problems of local residents, and to stimulate people's initiative in the decision-making process. According to the type of activity, local self-government implements the functions of local government, public administration and public service. In other words, local authorities play an intermediate role between the citizens and the government. Local self-government is a right defining the unity of functions and actions, which can be freely and independently managed by the municipality. It means that the municipal authorities make decisions according to the Constitution and the laws. [...