APHG Economic Geography Unit 7 Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions from the APHG Economic Geography Unit 7 Study Guide, covering development models, economic sectors, and industrial theories.

Economic Geography

A field of study focusing on global development and the location of economic activities, particularly industry and services.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A measure used to assess and compare levels of development across different countries.

Per Capita GDP

An economic measure of development that calculates the Gross Domestic Product divided by the total population.

Primary Economic Sector

The sector of the workforce involved in the extraction of natural resources, such as agriculture.

Secondary Economic Sector

The sector of the workforce concerned with manufacturing and processing raw materials into finished goods.

Tertiary Economic Sector

The sector of the workforce providing services to the general population and businesses.

Quaternary Economic Sector

A specialized category of the tertiary sector focused on knowledge-based services like research and information technology.

Quinary Economic Sector

A sub-segment of the tertiary sector involving high-level decision-making and leadership in society.

Modernization Model

Also known as the Ladder of Development; a perspective suggesting that all countries follow a similar path through stages of development.

Structuralist Theory

A perspective on development that includes World Systems Theory and Dependency Theory, focusing on the systemic barriers to growth.

World Systems Theory

A structuralist perspective that categorizes the global distribution of countries into core, semi-periphery, and periphery.

Subsistence Agriculture

An agricultural system where crops are grown primarily for the farmer's family, identified as a barrier to economic development.

Ecotourism

A strategy used by states to promote development by leveraging natural environments for responsible travel.

Debt for nature swap

A strategy where a portion of a developing nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental conservation.

Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

Specific areas within a country where business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country to attract foreign investment.

Export Processing Zones (EPZ)

Areas designated by states to attract export-oriented industries by providing favorable economic regulations.

Weber’s Least Cost Theory

A model explaining the location of industries based on the minimization of three factors: labor, transportation, and agglomeration.

Agglomeration

The clustering of productive activities and people for mutual advantage, which can reduce costs for individual businesses.

Deglomeration

The process of industrial de-concentration in response to technological advances or increasing costs such as congestion or high rents.

Hotelling’s Model

A theory of locational interdependence stating that the location of an industry cannot be understood without reference to the location of other industries of like kind.

Fordist Production Model

A highly organized and specialized system for organizing industrial production and labor, typically involving mass production on an assembly line.

Post-Fordist Production Model

Flexible production systems that have replaced older mass-production methods, characterized by automation and just-in-time delivery.

Just-in-time delivery systems

A method of inventory management where components arrive at the factory exactly when they are needed for the production process.

Maquiladoras

Manufacturing plants in Mexico that assemble components for export, often located near the border with the United States.

Footloose services

Professional or service-based jobs that can be located in any place regardless of resources or transport costs, common in post-industrial economies.

Containerization

The use of standardized shipping containers to transport goods, which has significantly lowered transportation costs and facilitated global industrial shifts.