Division of labour and subsidies from other regions
If resources are lacking in one region, it is possible to
tap resources in other regions. This can happen in the form
of a division of labour with other regions. Seasonal grazing
areas, water reservoirs, wood and charcoal delivery are some
examples. Young men from marginal areas work regularly or
seasonally in other regions or commit themselves for longer
periods to army or police service. Others migrate to more
prosperous areas and try to sell their products there. The
frequently existing economic and social relations between
marginal rural areas and towns where a portion of the village
inhabitants live, work and thanks to their income help to
secure the survival of their home villages, have been of little
interest to researchers up until now, and very little is known
about their nature and implications.
To a limited extent, governments arrange a transfer of resources
from more prosperous areas to support marginal areas, either
for strategic or political reasons or to maintain a minimum
standard of living. This is easy where there are strong central
authorities and in large countries. The poorer and smaller
a country is, and where a large percentage of the total area
is marginal, the greater the coordination problems become.
Difficulties are also presented by the economic and political
dominance of the irrigated regions.
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