Die sozialen Lasten der Zentren in der Folge des wirtschaftlichen Wandels

The changes in economy and society have brought up new socio-political problems that represent an important challenge for the authorities in charge of the system of social security (especially social assistance). The causes of this socio-political kind of problems are mostly general and locally independent developments. Nevertheless, the related problems appear to be linked to the territory. Varying initial situations, the difference in the economic structures as well as the different sizes of the centres, regions and communities lead to a different urgent call for action in order to get the hang of the new problems. Thus, the economic and social costs of a general development are very inequally distributed among the regions. Therefore, mechanisms are needed to compensate the regional and financial differences of the costs. The prerequisites are indicators which make charges comparable. This article is concerned with the unequal distribution of costs and discusses possible indicators for the registering of these costs.