Mongolia, endowed with abundant natural resources, faces a critical challenge in reducing its reliance on the mining sector and achieving economic diversification. This study aims to identify the potential for economic diversification by developing the non-mining processing industry. To this end, a Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analysis and value chain mapping were employed. The RCA results highlight the importance of livestock-derived products and recognise the livestock sector as having the best potential for achieving economic diversification. Consequently, the value chain of livestock-derived products was mapped, and key challenges at each stage were identified. The study provides actionable recommendations for developing this value chain. The findings underscore that the value chain of livestock-derived products encounters numerous obstacles that must be addressed to build a competitive sector. Key strategies for addressing the issues throughout the value chain include improving animal health, ensuring compliance with good practices and standards, and enhancing competitiveness through advanced technologies, increased financial and investment support, and improved logistics and infrastructure.

Most recent research concerning biofuels focuses on their potential for mitigating climate change, while their rural development dimension is given less prominence. Ongoing policy debates, including EU and US biofuel policies, pay little attention to this feature of the industry. This paper explores the impact of biorefineries on rural development, and employment in particular. It shows that biorefineries can have a considerable economic impact on the regions in which they are located. Embedded in the local social and economic fabric, the paper demonstrates their influence on regional and national labour markets. The case of a bioethanol plant in Hungary and its effect on the rural labour market in two counties of the country is studied by way of an input-output model. The research has found that the operation of a biorefinery stimulates the creation and maintenance of jobs in both farming and service industries. Results suggest that biorefineries are an important driver of rural development and that this aspect of the industry should be given greater weight in formulating biofuel policies.

Events are increasingly being used as a means to boost regional economic development through tourism, but are they truly effective to this end? In this article we attempted to answer this question by measuring the impact of the Christmas Festival ‘Magisch Maastricht’ on the economy of the municipality of Maastricht in the Netherlands. We used input-output analysis by which we calculated the number of additional jobs per sector created by the spending of visitors during the event. The results show that the impact on the urban economy is significant.