Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes

These flashcards cover vocabulary and key concepts related to industrial growth, human development indicators, economic sectors, and global interdependence as presented in Unit 7.

Industry

Any economic activity that uses machinery on a large scale to process raw materials into finished goods.

Heavy Industry

An industry requiring huge production facilities and skilled workers to produce large-scale goods like machinery, ships, and airplanes.

Light Industry

An industry requiring less investment in facilities that produces finished goods like clothing or electronics on a massive or custom scale.

Capital

Wealth in the form of money or assets used for investment in production.

Industrialization

The process by which the interaction of social and economic factors leads to the development of industries across a community, region, or country.

Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid change beginning in 18th century Britain that marked the shift from small-scale, hand-crafted production to power-driven mass production.

Guilds

Trade associations of master craftsmen in specific industries (like weavers or bakers) that set standards for quality, price, and output before the Industrial Revolution.

Cottage Industry

A pre-industrial system where members of families produced goods like textiles or shoes in their rural homes for urban entrepreneurs.

Primary Sector

Economic activities involving the extraction of natural resources from the earth, such as agriculture, mining, fishing, and forestry.

Secondary Sector

Economic activities associated with the production of goods from raw materials, including manufacturing and construction.

Tertiary Sector

Also known as the service sector; involves the transportation, storage, marketing, and selling of goods, as well as commercial and personal services.

Quaternary Sector

A specialized subcategory of the tertiary sector focused on processing and handling information, environmental technology, and scientific research.

Quinary Sector

A subcategory of the quaternary sector involving the top leadership and decision-makers in government, science, universities, and media.

Postindustrial Economy

An economic pattern marked by extremely low primary employment, low secondary employment, and predominant tertiary employment with rising quaternary and quinary jobs.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total value of all goods and services produced by a country’s citizens and companies within that country in a year.

Dual Economies

Two distinct divisions of economic activity within a country, where much of the population works in primary subsistence agriculture while another share participates in a market-based secondary sector.

Least Cost Theory

Alfred Weber's model proposing that businesses locate manufacturing facilities in places where moving raw materials and finished products will be as low as possible.

Agglomeration

The advantage for companies in similar industries to locate near each other to share specialized labor, materials, and services.

Break of Bulk Points

Locations where it is economical to break raw materials into smaller units before further shipping, often occurring where the mode of transportation changes.

Bulk Reducing Industry

An industry where raw materials cost more to transport than the finished goods, favoring factory locations near the source of the materials.

Bulk Gaining Industry

An industry where finished goods cost more to transport than the raw materials, favoring factory locations near the market.

Intermodal

Refers to standardized containers that can be shipped via different modes of transportation, such as ships, trains, and trucks.

Industrial Park

A collection of manufacturing facilities typically found in suburbs near highways to facilitate movement of materials and products.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A UN measure scaled from $0.0$ to $1.0$ that averages life expectancy, access to education (schooling years), and standard of living (GNI per capita).

Formal Sector

The portion of the economy consisting of businesses and activities that have government supervision, are taxed, and follow predefined labor contracts.

Informal Sector

The part of the economy outside government regulation and taxation, often dealing in cash and lacking worker safety protections.

Gender Inequality Index (GII)

An index ranging from $0.0$ to $1.0$ that calculates inequality based on reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation.

Microloans

Very small, short-term loans with low interest provided to people in need (often by NGOs) to start small businesses, specifically helping those without bank collateral.

Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth

A five-stage model describing how countries transition from traditional society to high mass consumption (modernization).

World System Theory

Immanuel Wallerstein’s theory describing global inequality through a structure of core, periphery, and semi-periphery regions.

Dependency Theory

A theory describing the development challenges of poorer countries due to their financial dependence on richer countries and the historical impact of imperialism.

Commodity Dependence

A state in which more than $60\%$ of a country's exports and economic health are tied to one or two natural resources.

Comparative Advantage

The relative cost advantage for a country to produce certain goods and services specifically for trade rather than being self-sufficient.

Complementarity

A mutually beneficial trade relationship resulting when two countries have different comparative advantages that fulfill each other's supply and demand.

Neoliberalism

The belief that open markets and free trade across the globe will lead to economic development everywhere and spread democracy.

Deindustrialization

A decline in the percentage of workers in the secondary sector and a reduction of industrial capacity, often resulting in a shift toward service industries.

Growth Poles

Places of economic activity clustered around high-growth industries (like biotech or R&D) that stimulate regional development.

Fordism

A system of mass production focused on automation, standardization, and a division of labor where each worker has a single specific task.

Post-Fordism

A flexible production system relying on automation and robots to produce low-volume, specialized goods with quick responses to market changes.

Offshore Outsourcing

The process of moving production or services to locations outside the country in which a corporation is headquartered to cut costs.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

An area within a country subject to different, more beneficial economic regulations (like tax incentives) to attract foreign investment.

Export Processing Zone (EPZ)

A site where manufacturing for export is done without tariffs, intended to attract multinational organizations to invest in labor-intensive assembly.

Free Trade Zone (FTZ)

A duty-free area established on major trade routes for warehousing, storage, and transport of goods without the usual taxes and regulations.

Sustainable Development

The goal of adopting production methods that minimize environmental harm to be perpetuated for the benefit of future generations.

Ecotourism

Environmentally friendly and sustainable travel to natural areas that protects the environment and sustains the well-being of local inhabitants.