case study - UK: a post-industrial economy

Question 1

why was there a decline in agricultural employment?

Answer 1

employment in agriculture has decreased by 28% since 1985, this is because:

• increased mechanisation of farming with bigger machines taking the place of people
• increased use in chemical fertilisers making farming more efficient without the need for workers
• farms are now bigger so invest in technology over people to maximise profit

Question 2

why was there a decline in mining?

Answer 2

employment in UK mining has declined by over a quarter in the past 13 years, this is because:

• some minerals run out in some areas
• often cheaper and easier to import products from mines abroad
• increasing costs for preventing environmental damage

Question 3

why was there a decline in shipbuilding employment?

Answer 3

employment in shipbuilding in the UK has declined massively in the past 20 years, this is because:

• cheaper and more efficient competition from japan and korea
• UK governments have become less supportive of the industry
• world demand for ships has fallen
• UK shipbuilders often fail to deliver on time

Question 4

why was there a growth in vehicle production industry?

Answer 4

in 2010, 175, 000 people were employed in making vehicles, this is because:

• invested in new technologies
• most companies are foreign owned so investment is high
• high-value products that require skilled work-force which the UK has
• UK has a reputation for reliability and quality so investment has continued

Question 5

what has changed in employment over the past 30 years in UK?

Answer 5

• the primary sector has declined by 45%
• the secondary sector has declined by 43%
• the tertiary and quaternary sector has increased by 48%

Question 6

what is the tertiary boom?

Answer 6

Margaret Thatcher’s government planned economic change in the 1980’s to encourage growth in tertiary sector by encouraging banking and finance industries to move to the UK e.g. HSBC, Barclays, J.P. Morgan and RBS. in the past 30 years employment in IT has grown by 485 and by 32% in finance

Question 7

what is the quaternary boom?

Answer 7

biotechnology is a growth industry in the UK and the production of pharmaceutical drugs are part of the UK’s huge biotech industry however the quaternary sectors contribution to the economy is only 10-15%

Question 8

what is meant by the term knowledge economy?

Answer 8

when jobs need highly qualified and trained employees e.g. tertiary sector