Livelihood Strategies in a Disadvantageous Micro-Region of Hungary

In Hungarian rural areas the low level of population density and income, the unfavorable age structure and the other economic conditions significantly differ from urban areas; and the differences among micro-regions are also increasing, which results in different standards of living and types of livelihood. Due to this unfavorable process some underdeveloped micro-regions have to face considerable economic and social problems (low economic activity, high unemployment rate), which leads to a critical situation.In this paper we focus on one single micro-region called Abaúj-Hegyköz, which is one of the most underdeveloped micro-region of the country. The main objective of this paper is to examine the livelihood strategies through employment possibilities, level of social aid, migration, educational level and infrastructural conditions in the micro-region. The basis of the fieldwork (including questionnaire and interview) was three selected settlements: Boldogkőváralja, Vizsoly and Hidasnémeti with about 1000 inhabitants each.In all the three villages the visited households were selected on the basis of economic and social criteria. The respondents represent each of the social strata; however, the article focuses first of all on the livelihood strategies of the two extreme groups of society. Based on the analysis a very heterogeneous picture was obtained and also strong differentiation was found within the surveyed community. The overall picture shows a considerable and broad-based poverty in the micro-region. The income differences increase the gap between the livelihoods’ of the two extreme strata.There is no economic base evolved in rural areas, which would mitigate the territorial differences. In case no significant changes occur, depopulation of the countryside might become a serious problem in the near future. Despite of the reduced economic importance of agriculture, almost all inhabitants of the examined region were involved in farming at some time either for subsistence or for market production. Therefore agriculture still has importance for the livelihood of a significant part of the population and can have a role in reduction of social tension in the future. The policy is inadequate to treat the problem of unemployment effectively on the long-term. It should encourage people to remain in the educational system and afterwards search actively for a job. Placing poverty alleviation first also requires innovative institutional arrangements and partnerships between the government, municipalities, NGOs, civil society groups and poor people