Economic Geography Test 1

Define capitalism,what is the key element of the definition that makes capitalism unique?

The economic, social, political, and geographic system characterized by the private ownership of the economic means of production

Differentiate the experiences of countries that industrialized early and those that did later

early industrializers faced little competition

-no govt assistance

negative attitudes to govt intervention

Britain and America

later industrial companies needed govt help(more competition)

Japan and germany

What is the fundamental institution in capitalism

The market where suppliers and buyers interact through supply and demand on the basis of price

What is the guiding force in the capitalist market

Profit, the difference between revenue and cost

Who are the survivors in a competitive market economy

The ones who can adapt and remain profitable

what figure is often used as the key measure in determining standard of living around the globe. How is it calculated

GDP per person. Calculated by total GDP ÷ population

What is laissez-faire capitalism

Free markets with no government intervention

what is relative distance and how is globalization impacting it in recent years

relative distance is the distance between placesmeasured in terms of time, cost, or effort. globalization has generally reduced relative distance thanks to air travel, shipping, and faster information travel due to phones

what groups of countries were classified as first world, second world, and third world countries during the cold war

first world - the western/capitalist bloc, US, canada, western europe, and Japan
second world - countries aligned with the soviet union, USSR and much of Eastern Europe
third world - countries not aligned with either bloc, such as africa, the middle east, and some of asia

define core and periphery, which of the previous cold war era groups would fit into each classification

the core - economic growth and strength, a leader, influencing other economies(developed countries
the periphery - weaker, dependent on decisions made elsewhere(developing and the least developed countries)
The cold war first world becomes the core, the cold war third world becomes the periphery

which national culture has been the dominant one in the globalization of culture, what cultures aspects and products are most represented in that process

America, in movies, TV, music, fashion, fast food, technology, the english language, and social media.

what is a transnational corporation and what role do they play in the globalization of the economy

a company that operates and controls business activities in multiple countries, they spread globalization by producing goods and services in multiple countries, creating international supply chains and trade networks, spreading technology, management practices, and knowledge, they create jobs in other countries too

what is the general purpose of development, what are the two critical issues that must be considered when studying development

is to improve people’s quality of life.
The biggest issue is the unevenness of development across the globe. Two critical issues: environmental constraints,and disparities of wealth and well being

what was the nature of feudalism in europe, including the atmosphere it created towards change and peoples outlook on life and potiential socioeconomic progress

Quite stable, highly conservative system where tradition was the name of the game. An environment that discouraged experimentation and innovation

which organization was the dominant political/ideological institution in feudal europe

The roman catholic church

How is it believed that the black death helped bring an end to feudalism in Europe

there were too few peasants to support the higher classes, so they started getting cocky about their importance

where did capitalism in europe originate

Northern Italian city-states of Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and Florence

what group that started as the middle class in feudal europe became the ruling class under capitalism, which feudal group became the working class in capitalism, what are the formal names for these groups

the middle class - bourgeoisie

the working class - proletariat

what industry was born due to money becoming the standardized measure of value in capitalist europe

the financial industry

what was the invention that brought literacy to the masses after its invention in 1440

the printing press

What event significantly diminished the power of the catholic church by de-emphasizing the role of priests as intermediaries in one’s relationship with god

The protestant reformation

what peace treaty(signed in 1648) legitimized the nation-state as the primary unit of international relations and law

the peace of westphalia

compare animate sources of energy and inanimate sources of energy

inanimate: hydraulic(location restrictions), fuel supply concerns with steam power.

Animate power: need to pay them bleh

explain the general early progression of the inanimate sources of energy as well as explaining the problems with the first two inanimate energy sources

it slowly beceme more complex and more powerful. wind and water were the first, water power you could only harness in natural water places, wind was unreliable and intermittant

define productivity and explain how increasing productivity has historically affected wages paid to labor

the level of output generated by a given volume of inputs
increased productivity because of technology has helped increase worker wages because they are producing more

know the easy-to-enter industry that is almost always first to arrive as a country starts to industrialize

the textile industry, especially cotton textiles

explain what the creation of the industrial working class made into a commodity

it turned labor into a commodity, the employees sold their labor for wages

compare the attitudes of early industrializers versus those of the later industrializers in regard to government intervention in the economy, explain why those attitudes differ

early industrializers were able to develop strong industries without government assistance, they didn’t need help. Later industrializers were trying to catch up and needed government assistance

what time periods and who were the major participants of the two waves of imperialism

age of exploration overseas empires: 1400s-early 1800s(spain, portugal, britain, france, netherlands
Post Napoleonic wars overseas commercial empires: 1815-late 1900s(britain, france, belgium, germany, italy, japan, US

what economic sector or group of activities did the europeans develop in their colonies

the primary sector(resource extraction, farming and mining)

what type of cities typically became the most important places in the colonies due to imperial transportation needs for resources

port cities

what country showed the rest of the world what industrialization and imperialism was not just something europeans could do

Japan during the Meiji Period

what continent has the highest rates of population growth currently

Africa

set up the equation for calculating doubling time

70/the growth rate

Differentiate Natural Growth Rate(NGR) and Net Migration Rate(NMR)

natural growth rate: births-deaths

net migration rate: in migration-out migration

Set up the equation for calculating natural growth rate using the crude birth rates and crude death rates

crude birth rate =births per 1000 people, crude death rate is deaths per 1000 people,

crude birth rate - crude death rate/ 10

summarize thomas Malthus’s view of the consequences of population growth particularly who he believed was at fault, why human beings reproduced, and the difference between the rate of population growth and the growth of food production

he thought poverty was the consequence of population growth. he blamed the poor as rapid reproducers, he attributed population growth to social ills, population growth grew exponentially while food production was linear

what are the examples of “preventative checks”(the ones he approved of) and “positive checks” to population growth in Malthusianism

moral restraint and abstinence were what he approved of. He didn’t aprove of contraception. positive checks - war, famine, disease, death

what are the 3 major problems that resulted in Malthys being proved wrong

food massively increased as a result of industrialization.
3 major problems:

-he didn’t forsee the impacts of the industrial revolution
-he didn’t see the opening up of large grasslands in N. America, argentina, and australia
-The industrial revolution saw birth rates decline as women focused more on their careers

what is the key difference between Malthusians and Neo-Malthusians, what are the neo-malthusians cool with that the malthusians don’t support

Neo-Malthusians thought that Malthus was wrong in the short run but right in the long run(it would happen eventually), The NEO’s advocated for birth control

explain demographic transition theory THOROUGHLY. (know the nature of birth and death rates in each of the 4 stages. Know why birth rates and death rates are the way they are in each stage. Be able to explain why changes in birth and death rates occur in the stage(s) in which they change. Know what happens to life expectancy as we go from Stage 1 to Stages 4-5. Know which specific stage results in population explosions, and which specific stage results in population decline in spite of a very low death rate

It explains how a countries birth and death rates change as the country develops economically and socially

how can population pyramids show the impact of events like famine, war, epidemics, etc

It will indent the pyramid at specific points

define the dependency ratio

• Dependents: ages 0–14 and 65+

• Working-age population: ages 15–64

(dependents/supporters)x100

explain Labor Migration Theory in solid detail, give a few reasons why there is no equalibrium throughout the world in regard to wages despite what the theory predicts would happen

the greater the wage difference between country A and B, the more people will move to the country with better salaries
knowledge of opportunities isn’t always available in low wage areas, and political restrictions towards immigration, and apprehensiveness to moving to a new, strange environment

name an example of one of the current major labor flows we discussed in class

mexico/central america/caribbean to the US and Canada

explain in broad demographic terms like age and gender, the typical makeup of most migrant workers, explain the reason for those patterns regarding age and gender

young men are typically the ones moving

explain the brain drain phenomenon, and explain why it can be so detrimental for developing countries

where highly educated, skilled workers leave developing countries for better opportunities elsewhere. that country now doesn’t have someone who could help develop it, they lose the workers they put money into training

give an example of a large intercontinental migration from the past

slave trade

what type of migration is more common today, intercontinental or intracontinental

intracontinental is much more common today

explain the intrastate migration that has been going on in the US over the past 70 years(not rural to urban migration)

because of the increasing economic opportunites, warmer climates, and lower housing costs, many people are moving from the northeast and midwest to the sunbelt! californians moving to texas

what is the stepwise fashion that is typical of rural-to-urban migration patterns in the developing world

rural→provincial capital→national capital/largest city