Manufacturing and Geography of the World Economy Lecture Flashcards

This set covers key vocabulary, economic concepts, and industrial trends from the lecture on Manufacturing and the Geography of the World Economy, including industrial revolutions, global production networks, and industry-specific characteristics.

Manufacturing

The process of transforming raw materials into usable products through the application of power and specialized labor to produce standardized commodities; it belongs to the secondary sector.

Producer goods

Also known as capital goods, these include machinery, equipment, and intermediate goods produced by heavy industry.

Consumer goods

Products such as textiles, clothing, and food produced by light industry.

Highly cyclical manufacturing

Activities most affected by economic crises, specifically the production of motor vehicles, transport equipment, and electrical/electronic equipment.

Less cyclical manufacturing

Manufacturing activities that remain more stable during economic downturns, such as food, beverages, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals.

Ubiquities industries

Industries that are inseparable from their immediate markets, such as bakeries and newspapers.

Agglomeration economies

Savings and benefits achieved when firms locate near each other to share infrastructure, labor, capital, and ancillary business services.

Agglomeration diseconomies

Occur when the costs of industrial clustering exceed the benefits, resulting in high land values, pollution, and government regulation.

Import substitution

An industrialization strategy used in the 1950s and 60s to promote development by replacing foreign imports with domestic production.

New International Division of Labour (NIDL)

A geographic organization of production where specific places specialize in particular stages or tasks of production rather than entire industries.

Just-in-time (JIT)

A methodology for reducing inventories by purchasing inputs for arrival exactly when needed and producing output just in time to sell, requiring high flexibility.

Export processing zones (EPZs)

Free trade zones designed to attract foreign capital through incentives like duty-free entry of goods, low taxation, and reduced labor or pollution controls.

Quality of institutions

Defined as the "rules of the game" or norms of behavior, including property rights and formal contracts, which are essential for lowering transaction costs.

Fourth Industrial Revolution

A technological transition involving Artificial Intelligence, robotics, ubiquitous linked sensors (Internet of Things), and additive manufacturing.

Science parks / Technopoles

Technology-oriented complexes, often near universities, used to commercialize research and provide infrastructure like incubators (e.g., Silicon Valley or Tsukuba Science City).

Deverticalization

A trend in the automotive industry where assemblers shift more responsibility for parts and design to supplier companies.

Fast fashion

A clothing industry model focused on trendy, lower-quality items with very short supply chains and high frequency production (e.g., Zara's $52$ micro seasons).

Ultra-fast fashion

A model used by firms like Shein and Temu characterized by algorithm-driven demand, direct-from-China shipping, and ultra-low prices.

Slowbalisation

A trend toward selective deglobalization, highlighting reshoring, nearshoring, and regional diversification to increase supply-chain resilience.

Servitisation of manufacturing

The continued shift toward including software, maintenance, data, and after-sales services as part of the manufacturing business model.

Maquiladoras

Export processing zones located in Mexico along the US border.

Global Manufacturing Output Share (2023)

The percentage of global manufacturing value added contributed by leading nations, with China at $28.9\%$, the US at $17.2\%$, and Japan and Germany both at $5.1\%$.