The Effect of Labor Force on the Development of the Border Area of the Republic of Serbia

• Published in: Teme Vol. XLI; no. 3; pp. 767 - 783
• Main Author: Anđelković Stoilković, Marija
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Niš 2017; Универзитет у Нишу
• Subjects: Labor relations; Rural and urban sociology; Social development; inequality; border area of the Republic of Serbia; labour force; unemployment; underdevelopment
• ISSN: 0353-7919

Issues of uneven regional development and demographic disorders have become increasingly significant in scientific literature, because the disparities in the development that were observed only at the macro level, now are reflected at the micro level. In order to present the regional disproportions in Serbia, the workforce of the border municipalities was selected. The border area is faced with limited development opportunities. In addition to the peripheral location, there are numerous development restrictions in terms of demographic and socio-economic problems. Although the most of the border municipalities are underdeveloped with adverse demographic characteristics, these municipalities can not be considered as a unified unit. The aim of this paper is to examine the structure of the labor force, as the basis for development, in order to determine the distribution and availability of labor in Serbian border areas, the potential for development. For the analysis were used the indicators of the workforce. Based on the indicators of social development the lower level of development of border municipalities is confirmed, and a significant contrasts in the border area is pointed out. The result is a comprehensive analysis of the labor force in the border area, which serves as a platform for the identification of areas with favorable demographic and developmental characteristics, and on the other side, there are underdeveloped municipalities with a disrupted demographic structure and unfavorable forecasts, which clearly confirms the existence of disproportion in the Serbian border region. Recognizing the diversity of the border area in terms of the labor force is essential for planning future development.