An outlying region of an economy, with poor communications and sparse population, which hinder its prosperity. The periphery is contrasted with the core, central regions with good communications and high population density. Poor facilities in the periphery provoke outward migration and deter investment which causes the differences between the periphery and the core to increase unless there is offsetting policy intervention. Small populations also give peripheral regions low voting power, which causes government policies to be less responsive to peripheral than to core needs.