Economic Activity And Energy Flashcards
What are the economic sectors?
Primary
Working with natural resources.
Secondary
Processing the raw materials.
Tertiary
Providing goods and services to the public.
Quaternary
Information communications and research and development.
What is the model used to show different proportions employed in each sector at different development levels
Clark-Fisher Model
What are the changes in the proportions? And why?
Changes in the primary sector:
• Pre-industrial period is labour intensive
• Mechanisation in the industrial period reduced the need for labour
• The decline has continued post-industrialisation, especially with increasing food imports
Changes in the secondary sector:
• People forced out of the primary sector found jobs in the increasing secondary sector
• The peak was during the industrial period where manufacturing was at its height
• Steady decline post-industrial due to technological improvements
• Many secondary jobs are moving abroad due to cheaper labour
Changes in the tertiary sector:
• Steadily increasing since the pre-industrial period
• More and more people required to sell the increasing number of goods produced by the secondary sector
• Recent fluctuations due to technological improvements but also customer care is desired
Changes in the quaternary sector:
• Growth only begins to occur in post-industrial societies
• High levels of technology and skill involved which require significant investment (public and private funding)
• Growth in this sector can further decline the employment in other sectors due to rapid technological improvements
Factors affecting the location of economic activity in each sector, and how this changes over time (remember 5)
Access to raw materials
Availability of cheap land
Where your customers are/ proximity to market
Good transport links
Climate
Energy
Infrastructure
Workforce
Soil fertility
Water supply
Reasons for changes in the number of people employed in each sector
Availability of raw materials
As raw material run out there will be a huge shift away from primary sector as this will not be needed anymore
Globalisation
Rise in TNCs and transport links between countries has led to less manufacturing in HICs, due to lower costs in LICs so in LICs a rise in secondary sector and in HICs a decline in primary and secondary sectors
Mechanisation
Less need for workers in primary and secondary sector jobs as robots give more profit for business owners than people
Demographic changes
Lots of rural -> Urban migration has meant less people living in rural areas so more people working in tertiary sector as people in city require services more and more income for people has meant more disposable income to spend on services
Government policies
LIC
• Many people are subsistence farmers (primary sector) – could get stuck in a cycle of poverty
• LICs are reliant on the primary sector – normally just a few different goods
• There is much underemployment (= too many people for the available jobs)
• Jobs in the secondary and tertiary industries are higher paid but there are fewer of them due to a small number of skilled workers
• Many countries are primary-product dependent and therefore not market resilient
NIC
• Rapid increase in manufacturing due to foreign direct investment (FDI) from TNCs taking advantage of large populations, low wages and government incentives means secondary sector grows
• Declining employment in the primary sector due to mechanisation
• When NICs become advanced enough a quaternary sector will begin to emerge
HIC
• The majority of people work in the tertiary sector - due to increased incomes
• A growing quaternary sector - due to investment and skills being boosted
• Declining manufacturing due to:
▪ MNCs (multi-national corporations) manufacturing abroad (offshoring) for cheap labour etc
▪ Technological improvements reduce the need for workers
What is the optimistic view on the relationship between population and resources
Boserup (optimistic view):
Growth in population stimulates an improvement in food production.
Technological developments resolve any problems.
E.g. mechanisation, GM crops etc
What is the pessimistic view on the relationship between population and resources
Malthus (pessimistic view):
Population growth occurs at a faster rate that food/resource supply.
Eventually there will be a point where there is no longer the food supply to feed the population.
At this point population growth would stop either by lowering birth rate or increasing death rate.
This point is often referred to as a preventative check or Malthusian catastrophe
Positive Checks
Checks that are brought in by humans to decrease the population e.g. government policies
Negative Checks
Natural checks that are beyond human control that reduce the population to fit with resources e.g. natural disasters, large famine
Key points from UK case study, positive and negative impacts of economic sector shifts in a named developed country. Sector Shifts?
In the 1800s jobs in primary economic activities were rapidly declining reaching 15% in 1900
In 1900 most people (over 60%) worked in secondary economic activities and tertiary economic activities were also steadily increasing
In the 1950s tertiary economic activities overtook secondary economic activities as the main employment sector
In 2021 over 70% of people in the UK were employed in tertiary economic activities
Tech industries have also developed hubs in the UK in areas such as Cambridge, Manchester and Leeds
Today: Primary 1.3%
Secondary 15.2%
Tertiary 73.5%
Quaternary 10%
Key points from UK case study, positive and negative impacts of economic sector shifts in a named developed country. Positive Impacts?
Deindustrialisation has led to improvements in the environment and decreased levels of pollution
The UK has developed expertise in secondary and tertiary economic activities which are in demand around the world
London is the second most important financial centre in the world after New York
Key points from UK case study, positive and negative impacts of economic sector shifts in a named developed country. Negative Impacts?
Deindustrialisation led to high numbers of job losses particularly in the north of the UK
Job losses in secondary industries led to large areas of deprivation, especially in inner cities such as Liverpool and Leeds
Increasing numbers of transnational corporations (TNCs) have moved their factories and offices to emerging and developing countries, causing a decrease in UK investment from these TNCs
Positive and negative impacts of economic sector shifts in a named emerging country (China). Sector Shifts?
In 1950 over 80% of the population was employed in primary economic activities - mainly agriculture
In 1978 China opened up to trade with the rest of the world and invested heavily in manufacturing
By 2005 primary economic sector employment had dropped below 50% and most people were employed in secondary and tertiary economic activities
In 2020 tertiary economic activity employment was increasingly important
Today: Primary 24%
Secondary 29%
Tertiary 47%
Positive and negative impacts of economic sector shifts in a named emerging country (China). Positive Impacts?
Improved incomes and higher standard of living
More investment in education and health services
Increased investment by transnational corporations (TNCs) therefore boosting overall economy
Investment in roads, airports, ports and other infrastructure
Positive and negative impacts of economic sector shifts in a named emerging country (China). Negative Impacts?
Increasing gap between regions as some area’s economies grow more rapidly
Increased gap between rich and poor, particularly in the gap between wealthier urban residents and poorer rural residents
Air, water and noise pollution all increased
Increased reliance on fossil fuels to supply energy which makes China one of the world’s largest CO2 emitters
Causes of informal employment
Significant amounts of rural → urban migration creating a surplus of labour (unemployment and underemployment). Lots of Underemployment (a situation when a person seeking skilled full-time work can only find part-time jobs that may not meet their skill set)
Workers are unskilled and illiterate making them unsuitable for formal employment
Increasing wealth creating a demand for services.
People look to the informal employment sector to help boost their earnings to help break the cycle of poverty
People want to
avoid paying taxes
High levels of rural-urban
migration. leading to more
people than jobs available
Lack of qualifications
or education meds
people can’t get work
in the formal sector
Employers want to
avoid paying holiday
pay and sick pay
People need flexible
hours to fit around
their family
Low wages mean people
need additional jobs to
make enough money
Characteristics of informal employment in a named megacity (Mumbai) Positives
Produces lots of income fore economy (600 million to 1billion dollars per year)
Many people employed in it so earn an income for themselves and would be unemployed otherwise (90% of employment in Mumbai is informal)
Those that are employed don’t have to pay taxes on their income so they keep more of the money
Can provide people with the groundworks to then get a better formal job after earning some money to e.g. pay for education
Characteristics of informal employment in a named megacity (Mumbai) Negatives
Not good healthcare / protection from government as it is not an official job so you will not be registered for any government schemes
Very risky as so many other unemployed people are competing for jobs against you
Very unstable income and can often be left without a job with no warning as much less regulation than formal job
Economic sector
a major division of the economy based on the type of economic activity
Underemployment
a situation when a person seeking skilled full-time work can only find part-time jobs that may not meet their skill set.
Informal employment
Types of work that are not officially recognised by the government
TNC
Trans National Corporation - a large company operating in a number of countries and often which have a huge net worth and a large sphere of influence
Energy gap:
The difference between energy demand and energy supply.
Energy security
The ability of a country to meet all of its energy needs reliably, preferably from within its own borders
Energy mix
The different types of energy that comprise the supply of energy for a country. It is best to have a varied energy mix so a country isn’t over-reliant on one source if there is ever a problem with its supply
Energy Demand
Amount of energy needed to meet to needs of the population.
