The paper presents the issue of poor development of regions which constitutes an initial process of the emergence of various disadvantaged area types. Grounds for disadvantaged regions formation were indicated and explained with the use of economic theories, including liberal trend, Keynes’s economics and localization theories. Separate reference was made to demographic and social rationales of forming disadvantaged areas resulting from weakening demographic potential, diminishing of the resources and quality of human and social potential and due to institutional problems. The article is a review comprising selected problems of the theory of origin and growing of the regress phenomena in the material sphere and on the socio-demographic background.

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