Geographic Division of Labor

the division of labor among particular geographic areas, expressed in the specialization of these areas in the production of particular types of industrial output, agricultural products, or services. It is a form of the social division of labor and obeys the laws of the latter’s development, which are determined by the method of production. The geographic (territorial) division of labor is directly related to the territorial location of public production to the extent that there is exchange of the results of productive activity among different areas.

By the territorial scope of economic relationships, geographic (territorial) division of labor is divided into the division of labor among particular populated points located within the boundaries of one region (local division of labor), among economic regions of different size (regional division of labor), and among countries (international division of labor). Regional and international division of labor under current conditions are complex in nature and usually encompass an enormous number of different types of products being exchanged. Single-commodity specialization or limitation to two or three types of output is encountered primarily in former or retained colonies.

In the socialist countries the geographic (territorial) division of labor is planned.

The appearance and development of the geographic (territorial) division of labor are conditioned by the economic effect produced by concentrating production in a particular area because of the general economic advantages of large-scale production or because of particularly favorable natural or economic conditions in the area. The influence of natural conditions is reflected most strongly in the specialization of areas in the extraction industry, agriculture, and tourism and health resorts.

The development of the geographic (territorial) division of labor is closely related to developing the transportation network and reducing the cost of transporting raw and processed materials, fuel, power, and finished output.