AS Edexcel Geography Predictions

I was wondering the exact same thing, what if they make the questions really hard as its the last year of this course or what if they've become slightly easier.

Well there's only so many questions they can ask so the chances of previous questions being recycled (#sustainability#greenstrategies#earthsister) is pretty high

Do you think personally it will be easier? I'm so worried that there may be questions I can't answer like why do TNCs invest in certain countries, or El Niño/La Nina.

Global Groupings

Asian tigers like Singapore and South Korea have joined the rich group of countries retaining their dominance over the world.

Economic power is concentrated in THREE GLOBAL ECONOMIC cores of North America, Europe and Asia. Of the 500 largest TNCs in the world, 139 are based in the USA and 71 in Japan. The three cores are referred to as a TRIAD. Around 80% of all global wealth and trade is concentrated in this triad which is linked through a complex system of global finance, stock exchanges, international airports and government centers.

Economic Groupings

The rich NORTH and the POOR south (Brandt line). The world is becoming more complex than this.

LEAST developed countries (LDCs)- Somalia, Chad, Malawi and Haiti- Low income, primary industry provides 40%+ of jobs, development is slow. Dependent on primary industry. High levels of poverty, disconnected from the world.

LESS developed countries (LEDCs)- Egypt, Peru

RECENTLY industrialised countries- (RICs)- Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tunisia- Lower middle income, high primary employment, manufacturing is growing rapidly.

NEWLY industrialised countries (NICs/ also known as BRICs)- Brazil, India, China, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan- upper middle income, 30+ of jobs are secondary and manufacturing exports important.

MORE Economically developed countries (MEDCs)- UK, USA, Central Europe, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Japan- high income, 70% of jobs are tertiary, TNCs are based here. R&D sector important, high Quaternary sector.

POLITICAL groupings

Groups where countries have signed agreements for economic gain.

EU- 28 European countries, formed in 1957, free trade and migration between, 31% of total GDP

OECD- 30 members- monitors economic performance and words to reduce corruption and bribery- global issues, 75% GDP between these 30 countries

OPEC- 12 major oil exportes- Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE etc- safeguards the interests of oil exporting countries. It has a large influence on the global oil price. OPEC have 65% of oil reserves and 35% of production- HUGE POWER

G8- UK, USA, FRANCE, JAPAN, GERMANY, ITALY, RUSSIA, CANADA- forum to discuss global issues- 65% of global GDP
G20 includes BRIC economies and other NICs.
G77- voice of developing nations , 131 in total- quite powerful- nowhere near as G8 power.

TRADE BLOCs

Formal trade blocs- NAFTA, ASEAN, EU allow free trade without tariffs and quotas. Countries not in the trade bloc often have to pay to trade with trade bloc countries.

WTO works to reduce trade barriers and encourage trade liberalisation.


The role of TNCs

Transnational corporations are major companies with a global reach and a presence in at least two countries. TNCs are economically powerful and politically influential and are important creators of wealth. TNCs like Walmart employ enough people to populate an entire city. Walmart has a global turnover of over 4 billion dollars equivalent to Norway's 2010 GDP.

Growing TNCs

TNCs focus on expanding their global operations in order to grow. This can be achieved in a number of ways:

Acquistions- Walmart expanded by taking over Asda
Joint ventures- Walmrt and Indian company Bharti announced plans to jointly open Bharti Walmart companies.
Franchising- 75% of McDonalds restaurants worldwide are franchises- local entrepreneurs pay fees to the parent company for the right to set up McDonalds.

McDonalds operates in over 119 countries worldwide and has over 35,000 outlets worldwide. A turnover of over 24 billion, over 1.7 million employees. Accused in the past of promoting deforestation for cattle grazing land, health issues over salt and sgar in food, low paid McJobs.

McDonalds have paid efforts to reduce resource consumption. 30% of McDonalds packaging is now recycled and green restaurants have opened in New York and London.

McDonalds uses GLOCALISATION- They have adapted to new markets- spicy burgers in India, no beef in Indian chains, special Diwali and Eid food. In the UK McDonalds advertises all of its milk as organic and along with the beef it uses, everything comes from British or Irish farms.

POSITIVES OF TNCs-

Jobs, trade and connections:

Jobs- the 200,000+ technology workers in Bangalore are employed by TNCs including IBM and Google
Trade- China's economic growth has resulted in TNCs locating manufacturing plants in its Free Trade Zones, boosting exports
Connections- TNCs complex global networks create connections that tie local and national economies into the global economic system.

NEGATIVES OF TNCs-

Exploitation- TNCs have been accused of exploitating workers in the developing world by paying very low wages in "sweatshop" conditions
Unemployment- Outsourcing jobs to the developing world can lead to job losses in developing countries
Identity- Local cultures and traditions can be eroded by TNC brands and Western ideas.

Switched on through the internet and tourism

Around 2.5 billion people use the internet. Growth has been uneven creating a digital divide between the developed and developing world. The divide links to income levels because the internet requires a PC or Laptop, internet service providers, ability to pay for a connection and companies willing to invest in providing services such as online booking and shopping.

Internet is good:

education and health service
reduced isolation of rural areas
access to the best price for buying and selling goods
business opportunities such as online buying
exchange of political ideas

TOURISM

The internet may have reduced the need to travel but it seems to have increased the demand for travel. Instagram has 400 million users with many accounts promoting beautiful locations around the world. It allows exploration of distant places plus online booking of holidays, flights and tours. Tourism business has grown faster in the developing world than the developed as lower cost air travel and the desire for something different has led people to travel to more exotic locations. Some developing countries gain up to 40% of GDP from tourism e.g Cuba and Madagascar. Tourism requires less infrastructure than complex high tech industries and uses natural human and cultural resources already present in a region.

WINNERS & LOSERS

Developing countries depends on commodity exports for their income.
For example there are two types of bananas:

COLONIAL- from small farms in FORMER french, british and dutch colonies in Africa or the Carribean
DOLLAR- larger plantation growth bananas in latin america sold by american TNCs.

key words.. ecommerce, telecommunication, outsourcing, offshoring, Cad/cam, comparative advantage, aquired advantage, protectionism, cumulative causation, multipler effect, technopoles, core, periphery, global hub..

Good luck.

Any decent explanation of cumulative causation?

Good luck.

Any decent explanation of cumulative causation?