Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of State Regulation of Sustainable Development of Rural Areas

The purpose of the article is to systematize the conceptual foundations of state regulation of sustainable development of rural areas and search for effective tools to ensure such development, taking into account European experience. The conceptual foundations of ensuring sustainable development of rural areas were revealed in the context of the new economic realities, which are caused by the acceleration of the implementation process of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and the implementation of the reform of the territorial organization of power in Ukraine. The essence of the concepts of "sustainable development", "economic development of the rural area", "model of sustainable economic development" was elucidated, taking into account the evolution of the paradigm of state regulation of the sustainable development of economic systems. It was proved that the key element of the modern model of sustainable development is state regulation. It was established that in the world practice of state regulation of the territories development there are two alternative approaches to planning: prescriptive and indicative. Evolution of scientific approaches to the implementation of the socio-economic development policy in the world has formed several concept-directions for the development of rural areas and their support: from the implementation of various not linked support programs to the use of mechanisms and tools of state support that are fixed at the legislative level. The experience of the member countries of the European Union indicates, on the one hand, the need to develop and implement rural areas development policies as the main direction of state influence on rural areas development, and on the other hand, it demonstrates the need to modernize approaches to rural areas development in Ukraine and the transition from agrarian to multifunctional development models of such areas.