Framework for economic performance of rural areas in Malaysia: a territorial approach

Abstract

Rural, poor and marginalized community often face many challenges in achieving economic equality and attaining socio-economic sustainability, especially among rural communities who have limited sources of income. Although it involves complex issues, it cannot be disregarded. Rural areas and its communities are important aspects of a country’s political and economic stability. In countries with emerging and developing economies such as Malaysia, rural populations constitute the majority of citizens. They are generally poorer and more disadvantaged than their urban counterparts. The study determines the factors for the differences in economic performance of the rural areas in Malaysia. The study also provides the framework to revitalize rural areas and the methods to use this framework that measure rural economic performance. Several methods were used to collect the information from rural communities using in-depth interview and structured survey. These two methods are important for this research in order to understand how the rural areas and its communities faced situation of growth or decline. By using this framework, the analysis of differentiation of economic performance provides understanding on how variation of factor influencing economic performance in rural areas and direct measures should be implemented in solving issues of rural decline.