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Abstract
The ‘LEADER community initiatives’ and the ‘LEADER approach’ have been
commonly accepted as an innovative way for development of rural areas in the EU. It is
widely assumed that promoting growth in rural areas can be achieved through
partnerships between representatives of three classes of local actors: civil society, public
administration and private/economic sector. While these partnerships certainly have the
potential to improve coordination mechanisms that manage local resources, their
existence is likely to have an impact on the distribution of political advantages and future
economic rents of current incumbents. What follows, it is reasonable to assume that local
political elites may either block or impede the adoption of this institutional innovation.
This paper investigates these issues using the Pilot Programme LEADER+ experiences in
Poland. The focus is on institutional aspects that are thought to affect the electoral
process. Consistent with a large body of political economy literature, our results suggest
that LEADER-type partnerships are more likely to occur in an environment where
holding politicians to account is easier.