Classification of rural areas as a logical operation to assess the socio-economic development of the region

In the article an attempt is made to systematize the methods for determining the types of rural areas and assessing their socio-economic development. Following the material of the authors's main works an attempt is also made to present the rural areas classification scheme with inclusion of priority indicators of social and economic development. The authors consider the key parameters of socio-economic development of rural areas in accordance with local specifics. This article is devoted, first of all, to identifying trends in processes and relationships between the indicators under consideration, structuring all the analyzed variables in such a way as to reflect their functional grouping in the future model of integrated development of the region rural areas. Particularly, the indicators quantifying production resources in agriculture are considered. Also, the authors try to resolve an issue of developing a monitoring system in the field of rural development, which, in their opinion, is the most effective direction for the development of rural settlements through a specially organized and permanent system of the accounting, collection, analysis and dissemination of information, of carrying out the additional information and analytical surveys and the assessment (diagnosis) of the state, the tendencies in development of specific problems of the studied area in order to better reflect the performance of certain rural areas and their contribution to the rural economy development.