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.