APHUG Unit 7 Vocabulary

Backwash effect

Negative effects on one region result from economic growth in another

Economic backwaters

Regions that fail to gain from national economic development

acid rain

a growing environmental peril that severely damages plant and animal life caused by oxides of sulfur and nitrogen that are released into the atmosphere

adaptive strategies

The unique way in which each culture uses it's particular physical environment; Those aspects of culture that serve to provide the necessities of life - Food, clothing, shelter, and defense

agglomeration

a process involving the clustering or concentrating of people or activities. refers to manufacturing plants and businesses that benefit from close proximity

assembly line production, Fordism

Mass production which allowed for the inexpensive production of consumer goods.

break of bulk point

a location along a transport route where goods must be transferred from one carrier to another. the cargoes of oceangoing ships are unloaded and put on trains, trucks or smaller riverboats for inland distribution

carrier efficiency

Refers to the positive or negative aspects of each type of transportation

comparative advantage

refers to the ability of a party (an individual, a firm, or a country) to produce a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than another party

deindustrialization

process by which companies move industrial jobs to other regions with cheaper labor, leaving the newly deindustrialized region to switch to a service economy and to work through a high period of high unemployment

economic sectors

Primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary and quinary

economies of scale

The characteristics of a production process in which an increase in the scale of the firm causes a decrease in the long run average cost of each unit

ecotourism

tourism to exotic or threatened ecosystems to observe wildlife or to help preserve nature

entrepot

A warehouse, depot; A commercial center, a place where merchandise is sent for additional processing and distribution

export processing zone

zones established by many countries in the periphery and semi-periphery where they offer favorable tax, regulatory and trade arrangements to attract foreign trade and investment

fixed costs

are business expenses that are not dependent on the activities of the business They tend to be time-related, such as salaries or rents being paid per month. This is in contrast to variable costs, which are volume-related (and are paid per quantity).

footloose industry

term for an industry that can be placed and located at any location without effect from factors such as resources or transport.

Four Tigers

refers to the highly developed economies of: * Hong Kong * Singapore * South Korea * Taiwan These regions were the first newly industrialized countries, noted for maintaining exceptionally high growth rates and rapid industrialization

growth poles

theory is that economic development is not uniform over an entire region, but instead takes place around a specific spot

Heartland

the central region of a country or continent; especially a region that is important to a country or to a culture

industrial location theory

theory attempting to explain why industries are found to have located in the places they are found. Relate locational factors to the goals of the industry such as minimizing costs (least-cost location) or maximizing profits

industrial revolution

a period from the 18th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spreading throughout Europe

infrastructure

is the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function

international division of labor

economic specialization is the specialization of cooperative labor in specific, circumscribed tasks and roles, intended to increase the productivity of labor

labor-intensive

Requiring a great deal of work, especially physical and manual effort

least-cost location

Model developed by Alfred Weber that states the location of manufacturing establishments is determined by the minimization of three critical expenses: labor, transportation, and agglomeration

manufacturing exports zones

a feature of economic development in peripheral countries whereby the host country establishes areas with favorable tax, regulatory and trade arrangements in order to attract foreign manufacturing operations. goods destined for the global market.

maquiladora

zones in northern Mexico with factories supplying manufactured goods to the U.S. market.

market orientation

A business approach or philosophy that focuses on identifying and meeting the stated or hidden needs or wants of customers

multiplier effect

is the idea that an initial amount of spending (usually by the government) leads to increased consumption spending and so results in an increase in national income greater than the initial amount of spending.

NAFTA

an agreement for free trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico; became effective in 1994 for ten years

outsourcing

The transfer of a business function to an external service provider

"just in time" delivery

is an inventory strategy that strives to improve a business's return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs

post Fordist production

World economic system characterized by a more flexible set of production practices in which goods are not mass produced; instead production has been accelerated and dispersed around the globe by multinational companies that shift production, outsourcing it around the world and bringing places closer together in time and space than would have been imaginable at the beginning of the 20th century

postindustrial

is a society in which an economic transition has occurred from a manufacturing based economy to a service based economy, a diffusion of national and global capital, and mass privatization

resource crisis

Future shortages of non-renewable energy sources with increased demand, solvable by use of renewable energy. Importance: Worldwide lack of resources in extremely high demand.

special economic zones

A special economic zone (SEZ) refers to designated areas in countries with regulations that differ from other areas in the same country. These regulations tend to contain measures that are conducive to foreign direct investment.

time-space compression

a term associated with the work of David Harvey that refers to the social and psychological effects of living in a world i which time space convergence has rapidly reached a high level of intensity

topocide

the deliberate killing of a place through industrial expansion and change, so that its earlier landscape and character are destroyed

transnational corporation

A multinational corporation (MNC) also called multinational enterprise (MNE), is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country

variable costs

costs that change directly with the amount of production

weight-gaining

These industries typically locate closer to markets than to their sources for components because transportation costs are before manufacture than after

weight-losing

These industries typically locate closer to their sources for components and raw materials than to their markets because transportation costs are less after manufacture than before.

world cities

generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system

core-periphery model

Higher wages and prices are found at the core while the lack of employment in the periphery keeps wages low there. The result may well be a balance of payments crisis at the periphery

dependency theory

a structuralism theory that offers a critique of the modernization model of development. political and economic relations between countries have controlled and limit the extent to which regions can develop

development

The extent to which the human and natural resources of an area or country have been brought into full productive use

foreign direct investment

an investment made by a company or individual from one country into a business or asset in another country, with the intent of gaining control or significant influence over the foreign enterprise.

gender

the wide set of characteristics that are seen to distinguish between male and female entities, extending from one's biological sex to, in humans, one's social role

Gross Domestic Product

The total value of all goods and services produced within a country during a given year

Gross national product

total value of all goods and services produced by a country's economy in a given year. It includes all goods and services produced by corporations and individuals.

Human Development Index

an indicator of the level of development for each country, constructed by the UN combing income literacy education and life expectancy

neocolonialism

The entrenchment of the colonial order, such as trade and investment under a new guise.

purchasing power parity

A statistic, identical products and services in different countries measured by the quantity and quality of products and services it can buy

technology gap

The presence in a country of a technology that other countries do not have, so that it can produce and export a good whose cost might otherwise be higher than abroad

technology transfer

The sharing of technological information through education and training; The use of a concept or product from one technology to solve a problem in an unrelated one

World systems theory

rich core capitalist societies succeed by exploiting poorer peripheral ones. In between are semi peripheral societies, a precarious global middle class.