From The Student Room

TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Geography > Stages of Economic Development

---

Economic Systems

Contents 1 Classification of Economic Activity 2 Describing the Development stage model - UK 3 Also See 4 Comments

Classification of Economic Activity

Difficult to classify as it depends on the person & the measures used.

Primary: Production of timber, farming etc. Use of raw materials. These consist of low-value added industries.

Secondary: Manufacturing e.g. car industry, steel where a product is produced.

2 types:

• Basic industries – serve industry.
• Consumer industries – direct sale to consumers.

Tertiary: Services for industry, e.g. gas & water & includes shops.

Quaternary: Producer orientated acts on behalf of commercial organisations e.g. banking, advertising. This is the gathering of information & the development of ideas – R&D

Quinary: Consumer orientated e.g. shops, government etc.

Variations in sectors are dependent on development of country. There is a rapid change from primary to industry & services in LEDCs.

Manufacturing will be different in different regions. Areas in Asia such as Taipei, Bangalore and Shanghai specialise in hi-tech industry such as electronics and Semi-conductors. Sao Paulo and Bangkok are mainly car industry areas while the Ruhr is a steel producing area. The Kansai region contains pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Developed economies employ a smaller proportion of people in the primary sector and higher proportions of secondary & tertiary. There are different stages of economic development. This is the 3 sector model of economic development. The balance of employment is called the economic structure. The model is good for predictions about MEDCs. However it is not very good for LEDCs or NICs. It does include quaternary but doesn’t include quinary or explain what they include.

Secondary employment is decreasing in European countries due to the automation of factories, which means that there are fewer jobs available. Higher wages mean that prices are undercut and so industry is less willing to locate in MEDCs.

Secondary employment is increasing in Asian countries due to increased development of Asian countries. TNCs locate to Asia as people are well trained but have cheaper wages. Also there is an expanding market in SE Asia.

Describing the Development stage model - UK

Decrease in Primary Industry:

• Better technology
• Higher yield so less farmers needed
• Mechanisation – jobs lost
• Cheaper abroad
• Resources running out – Tin mines in Cornwall.
• CAP – Dairy quotas, set-aside etc.
• Disease – BSE wipes out all the herds.
• Not all bad as there has been an increase in the number of jobs for N Sea oil.

Increase in Industry:

• Increase in technology – mass production – Everybody can afford cars so there is a bigger demand.
• Rural – urban migration
• Better methods of power – steam
• Multiplier effect – Supplying industries.

Decrease in Industry: -

• Cheaper labour abroad – LEDCs & NICs e.g. Taiwan.
• Mechanisation so less jobs
• Changing location of markets. – TNCs in Asia
• Cheaper imports e.g. electronics from the Far East.
• Effect of governments & TNCs but had some good points.
• Better transport so lower transport costs.

Tertiary Increasing: -

• Services always needed
• More time & money available for leisure – Disposable income
• More services needed to support other services & industry.

Also See

Other ‘Economics Systems’ revision notes at A Level:

• Motor Vehicle Industry
• The Global Economy and Multinational Corporations
• The Rise of Manufacturing in NICs
• Location Models
• Stages of Economic Development
• Taiwan
• The Iron and Steel Industry
• Nike – A TNC
• Product Life Cycle Theory
• World Trade

Comments

These notes were originally written by F1_fanatic and posted here on TSR Forums. They are suitable for people studying for geography at A Level.