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GEOG 304 Study Guide
Our working definition of “the economy” |
production, distribution, exchanges, and consumption of goods and services |
Place |
a specific area of space; gains meaning/significance; society/governance. ex) Houston as a city, a metropolitan area etc. |
Space |
Area of Earth's surface: territory, region location; flows across space (uneven) |
Scale |
organization of space to understand human relationships; spatial relationship; indirectly proportional to unit costs of inputs |
Representation |
How we use concepts to describe places and phenomena; imaginative geography. Ex) associating McDonalds and Starbucks with the USA; Terrorism with the Middle East |
Globalization |
Set of worldwide processes that make the world economy/societies more integrated and interdependent - reducing transportation and commercial costs |
Modes of production |
The method of producing the necessities of life (whether for health, food, housing or needs such as education, science, nurturing, etc.). |
Capitalism |
dominant form of production and consumption; distinguished by relationships between factors of production - land, labor, capital and enterprise |
Where and when did capitalism begin? |
after the demist of feudalism in Europe in the 18th century (1877) |
The most important system of allocation under capitalism |
the market |
How is capitalism associated with an increased socialization of production? |
Capitalism comes about by virtue of the correspondence between the productive relations to the character and level of development of the productive forces. Due to this, the development of society takes the form of the natural historical change of socio-economic formations. |
Where and when did the industrial revolution begin? |
18th-19th century Europe and North America |
Industrialization |
complex process that involves multiple transformations in inputs, outputs, and technologies; harnessing of inanimate sources of energy. |
Inanimate Sources of Energy |
energy derives from sources other than living muscle. ex) solar energy, water, wind, fossile fuels etc. |
Technology |
means by converting inputs to output |
Technological Innovation |
increased sophistication in division of labor - created more jobs in various sectors |
Productivity |
level of output generated by a given volume of inputs; production increases refer to greater levels of efficiency |
Labor Process |
relation between labor skill and mechanization in production process |
Kondratiev Long Waves |
capitalism is prone to long-term cyclical shifts in its industries, products, labor markets, geographies etc.
(textiles-heavy industry-petro-chemical-electronics) |
Capital Accumulation |
gathering or amassing of objects of value; increase of wealth through concentration; concentration of wealth |
Basic Demographic Equation |
Growthrate equals births minus deaths plus net migration |
Basic argument of Thomas Malthus |
-Human population grows exponentially, but food production, factor that limits size of human pop, grows linearly; overpopulation |
Criticism of demographic transition theory |
It is based on the western model; urbanization does not imply economic growth |
Neo-Malthusian |
generally refers to people with the same basic concerns as Malthus, who advocate for population control programs, to ensure resources for current and future populations. |
Resources |
all substances of the biological and physical environment |
Reserve |
quantities of resoruces that are known and available for economic exploitation with current technology and currency |
Mineral |
natural inorganic substances with definite chemical composition and distinctive crystal structure |
Projected Reserves |
estimates of the quantities likely to be added to reserves because of discoveries and changes in prices and technology projected to occur in a certain period of time |
A non-renewable resource that is depleted as it is used |
oil |
Point Source Pollution |
sources of pollution that are concentrated in one location.
Ex) a factory or oil spill |
Non-Point source of pollution |
sources of pollution that don't lie in one point but are broadly spread out.
ex) runoff from agricultural field |
Maximum Population supported by available resources |
Ideal or Optimum population |
Tragedy of the Commons |
public resources are ruined by the isolated actions of individuals, which occurs when costs of actions are not captured in market prices |
Carrying Capacity |
the maximum population of the Earth that can be environmentally sustained given available resources |
Maximum sustainable yield |
maximum level of natural resource that can be exploited without depletion |
Factors or location |
labor, land, capital and managerial/technical skills |
fixed capital |
specific use value, fixed Ex) machines, equipment, buildings |
Liquid Capital |
profits, savings, loans, bonds etc. |
Capital Intensification |
high proportion of capital is used relative to amount of labor; using technology to replace human labor |
Labor similar/different from other commodities |
labor is the only sentient factor/ emerges into market through society; has demand/supply/can be bought with capital |
Weberian Model |
emphasizes costs of transportation in industrial location; costs of assembling RM/distribution of FP/TC; today: transportation costs are declining |
Figure 5.7A |
iron ore mining company; cost of shipping raw materials outweighs cost of final product.
Firms locate near raw materials |
Figure 5.7B |
Bottled and canned soda; total transportation cost is minimized due to processed raw materials being added to weight of final product |
Division of Labor |
specialization of production within or among regions, firms, countries by occupation or region |
Economies of Scale |
increasing scale generally lowers the unit cost of inputs in firms; cost savings derived from producing goods in larger volumes; spreading fixed costs over higher quantity of output |
Vertical Integration |
When the same firm is responsible for multiple steps in the production or marketing of a product: exploration, drilling, refining, retailing oil |
Horizontal Integration |
strategy to increase a firms scale by buying, building, or merging with another firm at the same state production which creates oligopolies; gains increased market share |
Diversification |
strategy by which a firm enters a different product market from the one it traditionally engages; produces unrelated products |
Agglomeration Economies |
benefits gained by firms clustering near other firms - reduces transportation costs of inputs, outputs, access to specialized labor.information/infrastructure |
Commodity |
goods and services that are produced for sale on a market for profit; most in capitalism |
Value of a commodity |
qualitative |
Commodity Exchange |
quantitative |
Global Commodity Chains |
commodities via a series of stages from producers to consumers
ex)walmart |
4 dimensions of commodity chains |
1) input-output structure
2) Territoriality
3) governance
4) institutional framework |
Value added by Manufacturing |
value added by changing a raw material into a usable good |
International Division of Labor |
global system of geographically differentiated production set into motion under colonization; high-wage/profit activities centered in first world |
Fordism |
Specialization, mass production; system of industrial production/assembly line/ specialized division of labor in factories |
Post-Fordism |
"flexible production"; late 29th century characterized by automated production, just-in-time inventory, produce small quantities of goods for profitability |
North American Manufacturing Belt |
core manufacturing region of US (Boston-Wisconsin) |
Services |
may be broadly understood as the production and consumption of intangible inputs and outputs and thus services stand in contrast to manufacturing, whose product can be "dropped on ones foot". |
services |
variety of occupations from professors to plumbers |
Producer services |
those primarily sold to and consumed by corporations rather than households. Many producers also serve final demand, such as attorneys that cater to both commercial clients and individuals.
-Commonly divided into two groups: finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE), and Business services. |
producer services |
services sold to and consumed by corporations rather than households |
Finance, insurance and Real Estate (Fire) |
This sector includes commercial and investment banking, insurance of all types, and the commercial and residential real estate industry. |
Business Services |
This sector includes legal services, advertising, computer services, engineering and architecture, public relations, accounting, research and development, and consulting. |
Transportation and communications services |
Include the electronic media, trucking, shipping, railroads, airlines, and local transportation. |
Wholesale and retail trade services |
firms are the intermediaries between producers and consumers. |
Consumer services |
Things such as eating and drinking establishments, personal services, and repair and maintenance services, all of which have locational requirements closely associated with local demographics and transport structures. Entertainment, hotels and motels comprise elements of tourism, the worlds largest industry in terms of employment. |
Government services |
operate at national, state and local levels and include public servants, the armed forces, and all those involved in the provision of public services (e.g. public education, health care, police, fire departments, etc.) |
Nonprofit services |
include charities, churches, museums, and private, non profit health care agencies, many of which play influential roles in local economies. |
"non-direct" production workers |
are within many manufacturing firms, such as clerical, administrative, research, advertising, and maintenance workers. |