Economic Activity and Energy

Economic Activity

the production, manufacturing or provision of goods and services

Things economic activities do:

-create jobs

-generates income

-produces something for sale/consumption

Economic sectors:

• Primary- extraction of raw materials

• Secondary- processing of raw materials into goods

• Tertiary- provision of those goods/ services

• Quaternary- the creation of new products through R and D

The Clarke Fisher Model- describe

• The pre-industrial phase– the primary sector leads the economy and may employ more than two-thirds of the working population. Agriculture is the most important activity.

• The industrial phase– the secondary and tertiary sectors increase in importance. The primary sector declines, as industrialization (machinery in farms grows)

• The post-industrial phase– As the tertiary sector becomes the most important sector, the secondary sector declines and the primary sector employs a small percentage of the active population.

The Clark Fisher Model- explain

• Decline of Primary sector + Rise in Secondary Sector- due to mechanization + secondary sector is higher paying- in low income countries, there is less mechanization, so farmers have to rely on subsistence farming (harvesting only enough food for their family)

• Rise in Tertiary sector- as more rural- urban migration occurs (rise in secondary sector) more factories move to cities due to extra labour available. More people have stable salaries- rise in disposable income creates demand for luxury services

• Fall in Secondary sector- service sector grows due to higher pay and safety (compared to secondary sector)

• Rise in quaternary- more people start getting educated + greater demand for newer products and tech

Global Shift

movement of manufacturing from developed countries to developing/emerging countries in search for cheaper labour

Factors affecting primary sector location

• Availability of workers

• Availability of raw materials

• climate/ soil conditions

• proximity to transport links

factors affecting secondary sector location

• cheap/ available labour

• transport links

• large land

• urban area

• amenities

factors affecting location of tertiary sector

• urban area

• consumer availability

• land price

factors affecting location of quaternary sector

• amenities

• educated workforce

• urban area

• large and open space

Informal employment/ sector

it is the unofficial sector that is unregulated and doesn’t fall under government control

Causes of informal employment

• rural to urban migration- occurs in less developed countries as the people moving have less qualifications so cant access official jobs

• due to a lot of people living in cities- there aren’t many jobs, so people have to join unregulated jobs to survive

Boserup’s Population Theory

• believed population growth stimulates agricultural production

• believed food supply will increase with population growth- humanity would invent new farming methods to keep up with rising demand

• necessity drives technological advancement

Malthus’s Population Theory

• believed unchecked population growth led to famine and disease since resources limit population size

• idea that positive checks include war, famine and epidemics + preventative checks include moral restraint + delayed marriage

• population grows faster than food supply

Employment structure in LIC—>MIC

more people working in primary sector due to lack of mechanization- as country begins to develop, factories move to cities, which leads more people to working in secondary sector from rural to urban migration

Employment structure in MIC—>HIC

people move from secondary sector jobs to tertiary sector jobs because these jobs pay more and are safer. Then they have higher disposable income, which leads to higher education rates, leading to a more educated workforce. Then as the demand for better products arises, people start working in quaternary sector

Energy demand

• increased wealth- when countries have more wealth they want to make citizen’s lives better by introducing tech advances- need for energy (demand) increases

• Increased population- the demand increases as more people need tech and energy

• Increased amount of energy- as tech increases, demand also increases because tech needs energy to function

Energy supply

delivery of fuels to a point of consumption

Energy security

uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price

Energy consumption

energy used by a population

Energy surplus

when more energy is available than what is required

Energy deficit

when less energy is there than what is required

Renewable

a material that can be made without damaging the source product

Non- renewable

a material that once used can’t be used again

Fracking

process that uses san, chemicals and water to extract natural gases from the earth

Fracking process

• well is drilled into the ground- vertically and then horizontally, into layers of shale rock that contain natural gases

• steel pipes (casings), are inserted into te well and sealed with cement to stop gas or excess liquid from leaking into the surrounding soil/water

• a mix of sand, chemicals and water are pumped into the stale rock, creating small fractures

• sand in fractures open, allowing the trapped natural gases trapped in rock to flow into the pipes/ well

• gas travels upwards to surface where it is seperated, processed and sent for use

Energy efficiency + conservation

• energy efficiency- use a resource that provides the same output that uses less energy while doing so

• energy conservation- the practice of reducing energy consumption by using less energy-intensive services, cutting down on waste, and improving efficiency