Unit 7 Vocab Flashcards
Agglomeration
grouping together of many firms from the same industry in a single area for collective or cooperative use of infrastructure and sharing of labor resources
Auto Alley
an area of concentrated automobile manufacturing in North America, from southern Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico in the southeastern United States
Back office services
work that is important to the running of a company but is rarely seen by clients such as accounting, planning, inventory management, supply-chain management, human resources and logistics; back offices used to literally be located in less desirable and less visible parts of office buildings but are now often located somewhere other than company headquarters such as in areas and countries with cheaper rent and lower labor costs
Basic industries
businesses (such as manufacturing and mining companies) that sell primarily to external customers and, therefore, bring in revenue to support the nonbasic industries and community
Black market
an illegal trading of goods and services without government’s knowledge in order to avoid price control, tax or government regulations
Break-of-bulk point
point at which a product is transferred from one shipping method to another
BRICS
an acronym that refers to the economies of, Russia, India, and China, which are seen as majoreconomies in the world
Bulk-gaining industry
an industry whose products increase in size or weight during manufacturing
Bulk-reducing industry
an industry whose products decrease in size or weight during manufacturing
Bureaucracy
a system for controlling or managing a country, company, or organization that is operated by a large number of officials employed to follow rules carefully
Business services
services that primarily meet the needs of other businesses
Call center
an office set up to handle a large volume of telephone calls, especially for taking orders and providing customer service
Capitalism
an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market
Closed shop
place of work where membership in a union is a condition for hiring and continued employment
Commodity dependence
A country is considered to be export-commodity-dependent when more than 60 percent of its total merchandise exports are composed of commodities (or basic products and raw materials)
Communism
a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs
Comparative advantage
an economy’s ability to produce goods and services at a lower opportunity cost than that of trade partners; gives a company/country the ability to sell goods and services at a lower price than its competitors and realize stronger sales margins
Complementarity
when both parties have goods or services that the other party desires
Consumer services
businesses that provide services primarily to individual consumers, including retail services and personal services
Containerization
a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers)
Core
In World System Theory, core countries are industrialized capitalist countries on which periphery countries and semi-periphery countries depend. Core countries control and benefit from the global market, usually recognized as wealthy nations with a wide variety of resources and are in a favorable location compared to other states. They have strong state institutions, a powerful military and powerful global political alliances.
Cottage industry
a small-scale industry, where the creation of products and services is home-based, rather than factory-based
Deglomeration
process of industrial deconcentration in response to technological advances and increasing costs
Deindustrialization
the process of social and economic change which is due to the reduction in industrial capacity or the activities of a country’s manufacturing and heavy industry
Dependency Theory
suggests that global inequality is primarily caused by core nations (or advanced economies) exploiting peripheral nations for their resources, which keeps them poor and dependent
Development
process of improving the material conditions of people through diffusion of knowledge and technology
Economic Base
a community’s collection of basic industries
Ecotourism
tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife
Export-processing Zone
established by many countries in the periphery and semi-periphery where they offer favorable tax, regulatory, and trade arrangements to attract business and investment (labor is cheaper and environmental restrictions are relatively weak); EPZs offer incentives and a barrier-free environment to promote economic growth by attracting foreign investment for export-oriented production
Fabricated metals
the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending, and assembling processes; a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials
Fair Trade
a way of buying and selling products that makes certain that the people who produce the goods receive a fair price
FIRE
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
Footloose Industry
a general term for an industry that can be placed and located at any location without effect from factors of production such as resources, land, labor, and capital
Fordist production
form of mass production in which each worker is assigned one specific task to perform repeatedly (assembly line)
Foreign Direct Investment
investment made by a foreign company in the economy of another country
Formal Economy
the legal economy that is taxed and monitored by a government and is included in a government’s gross national product
Free market economy
a system in which the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and by consumers; the laws and forces of supply and demand are free from any intervention by a government, or by other authority
Free-trade zone
an area within which goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and reexported without the intervention of the customs authorities; organized around major seaports, international airports, and national frontiers—areas with many geographic advantages for trade; examples: Hong Kong, Singapore, Colón (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Stockholm (Sweden), Gdańsk (Poland), Los Angeles, and New York City
GDI
(Gender-related Development Index) compares the level of development of women with that of both sexes as represented by the HDI
GEM
(Gender Empowerment Measure) UN measure of the extent of gender inequality across the globe’s countries, based on estimates of women’s relative economic income, participation in high-paying positions with economic power, and access to professional and parliamentary positions; introduced at same time as GDI but measures topics like empowerment that are not covered by that index
Gender Gap
the difference between men and women when it comes to economic outcomes
Gender Inequality
legal, social and cultural situation in which sex and/or gender determine different rights and dignity for women and men, which are reflected in their unequal access to or enjoyment of rights, as well as the assumption of stereotyped social and cultural roles
Gendered space
areas in which particular genders of people, and particular types of gender expression, are considered welcome or appropriate, and other types are unwelcome or inappropriate
GII
(Gender Inequality Index) a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market
Glass ceiling
invisible but real barrier through which the next stage or level of advancement can be seen, but cannot be reached by a section of qualified and deserving employees, usually due to implicit prejudice on the basis of age, ethnicity, political or religious affiliation, and/or sex
GNP
the total value of all goods and services produced by a country’s economy in a year, including any income earned by residents from overseas investments
HDI
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living.
Industrial park
a portion of a city that is zoned for industrial use rather than residential or commercial needs; may contain oil refineries, ports, warehouses, distribution center and factories
Industrial Revolution
period of major industrialization that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s that saw the mechanization of agriculture and textile manufacturing and a revolution in power, including steam ships and railroads, that effected social, cultural and economic conditions; began in Great Britain and quickly spread throughout the world; the American Industrial Revolution, commonly referred to as the second Industrial Revolution, started sometime between 1820 and 1870
Industrialization
the transformation of agrarian-rural societies to industrial-urban societies that are dominated by manufacturing and services