AP Human Geography - Industry and Development

Agglomeration

Grouping together of many firms from the same industry in a single area for collective or cooperative use of infrastructure and sharing of labor resources.

Backwash Effect

The negative effects on one region that result from economic growth within another region.

Break-Bulk Point

A location where large shipments of goods are broken up into smaller containers for delivery to local markets.

Bulk Gaining Industries

Industries whose products weigh more after assembly than they did previously in their constituent parts. Such industries tend to have production facilities close to their markets.

Bulk Reducing Industries

Industries whose final products weigh less than their constituent parts, and whose processing facilities tend to be close to sources of raw materials.

Conglomerate Corporation

A firm that is comprised of many smaller firms that serve several different functions.

Core

Nation or global regions where economic power, in terms of wealth, innovation, and advanced technology, is concentrated.

Core- Periphery Model

A model of the spatial structure of development in which underdeveloped countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region.

Cottage Industry

An industry in which the production of goods and services is based in homes, as opposed to factories.

Deindustralization

Loss of industrial activity in a region.

Development

The process of economic growth, expansion, or realization of regional source development.

Economic Backwaters

Regions that fail to gain from national economic development.

Ecotourism

A form of tourism, based on the enjoyment of scenic areas or natural wonders, that aims to provide an experience of nature or culture in an environmentally sustainable way.

Export Processing Zone

Areas where government create favorable investments ad trading conditions to attract export-orientated industries.

Footloose Firms

Manufacturing activities in which cost of transporting both raw materials and finished product is not important for determining the location of the firm.

Fordism

System of standardized mass production attributed to Henry Ford.

Foreign Investment

Overseas business investments made by private companies.

Gender Equity

A measure of the opportunities given to woman compared to men within a given country.

Globalization

The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected on a global scale such that smaller scales of political and economic life are becoming obsolete.

Gross Domestic Product

The total value of goods and services produced within the borders of a country during a specific time period, usually one year.

Gross National Product

The total value of goods ad services, including income received from abroad, produced by the residents of a country within a specific time period, usually one year.

Human Development Index

Measure used by the United Nations that calculates development not in terms of money or productivity but in terms of human welfare. The HDI evaluates human welfare

Industrial Revolution

The rapid economic and social changes in manufacturing hat resulted after the introduction of the factory system to the textile industry in England at the end of the 18th century.

Industrialization

Process of industrial development in which countries evolve economically, from producing basic, primary goods to using modern factories for mass producing goods. At the highest levels of development, national economics are geared mainly toward the delivery of services and exchange of information.

Industralized Countries

Those countries including Britain, France, the United States, Russia, Germany, and Japan, that were all at the forefront of industrial production and innovation through the middle of the 20 th century. While industry is currently shifting to other countries to take advantage of cheaper labor and more relaxed environment standards, these countries still account for a large portion of the world's total industrial output.

Least Cost Theory

A concept developed by Alfred Weber to describe the optimal location of a manufacturing establishment in relation to the costs of transport and labor, and the relative advantages of agglomeration and deglomeration.

Least Developed Countries

These countries including Africa, except for South Africa, and parts of South America and Asia, that usually have low levels of economic productivity, low per capita incomes, and generally low standards of living.

Manufacturing Region

A region in which manufacturing activities have clustered together The major U.S industrial region has historically been in the Great Lakes, which includes the states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Industrial regions also exist in southeastern Brazil, central England, around Tokyo, Japan, and elsewhere.

Maquiladoras

Those U.S firms that have factories just outside the United States/Mexican border in areas that have been specially designated by the Mexican government. In such areas, factories cheaply assemble goods for export back into the United States.

Offshore Financial Center

Areas that have been specially designed to promote business transactions, and thus have become centers for banking and finance.

Outsourcing

Sending industrial processes out for external production. The term outsourcing increasingly applies not only to traditional industrial functions, but also to the contracting of service industry functions to companies to overseas locations, where operating costs remain relatively low.

Periphery

Countries that usually have low levels of economic productivity, low per capita incomes, and generally low standards of living. The world economic periphery includes Africa (except for South Africa), parts of South America, and Asia.

Primary Economic Activities

Economic activities in which natural resources are made available for use or further processing, including mining, agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Productivity

A measure of the goods and services produced within a particular country.

Purchasing Power Parity

A monetary measurement of development that takes into account what money buys in different countries.

Quaternary Economic Activities

Economic activities concerned with research, information gathering, and administration.

Quinary Economic Activities

The most advanced form of Quaternary activities consisting of high-level decision making for large corporations or high-level scientific research.

Regionalization

The process by which specific region acquire characteristics that differentiate them from others within the same country. In economic geography, Regionalization involves the development of dominant economic activities in particular activities.

Rostow's Stages of Development

A model of economic development that describes a country's progression which occurs in five stages transforming them from least-developed to most-developed countries.

Rust Belt

The manufacturing region in the United States that is currently debilitated because many manufacturing firms have relocated to countries offering cheaper labor and relaxed environmental regulations.

Secondary Economic Activities

Economic activities concerned with the processing of raw materials such as manufacturing, construction, and power generation.

Semiperiphery

Those newly industrialized countries with median standards of living, such as Chile, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia. Semiperipheral countries offer their citizens relatively diverse economic opportunities but also have extreme gaps between rich and poor.

Sustainable Development

Th idea that people living today should be able to meet their needs without prohibiting the ability of future generations to do the same.

Tertiary Economic Activities

Activities that provide the market exchange of goods and that bring together consumers and providers of services such as retail, transportation, government, personal, and professional services.

Transnational Corporation

A firm that conducts business in at least two separate countries; also known as multinational corporations.

World Systems Theory

Theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein that explains the emergence of a core, periphery, and semi periphery in terms of economic and political connections first established at the beginning of exploration in the late 15th century and maintained through increased economic access up until the present.

imperialism

A policy of extending a country's political and economic power.

assembly line

Process in which an item is moved from worker to worker, with each worker performing the same task repeatedly.

substitution principle

Process in which businesses seek to maximize profit by substituting one factor of production for another.

post-Fordism

Process of manufacturing that incorporates automation and in which workers are trained to do more than one job so they can rotate between workstations during a day.

multiplier effect

A term for the potential of a job to produce additional jobs. Example: a tire manufacturer expanded a plant to produce 100 new jobs in a community, the new workers would have more money to spend on food, clothes, movies, from other nearby businesses.

locational triangle

The market for a good is at one location and the resources needed to make the good are obtained at two other locations. These three points make up the points of a triangle.

Hotelling location model

Explains the behavior of two competing shops that are located next to each other in order to split the market and maximize revenue and market share. (Think of the beach)

labor-intensive industries

Industries in which the largest cost of production is in paying for the labor. Example: garment industry - typically located in LDCs to take advantage of low labor costs.

locational interdependence

The location decision for a factory is dependent upon the location of other factories. Being near similar factories allows the businesses to make use of the same services, such as transportation firms, or accounting firms.

Just-in-time delivery

A system in which the inputs needed in the assembly process arrive at the assembly plant very close to when they are needed. This system reduces expensive storage cots and avoids tying money up in inventory.

front offices

When a corporation wants to have a high profile office to signal its power, usually located in the downtown of a city. This allows executives to easily interact with executives from other nearby business institutions. These offices are expensive so they don't occupy more space then necessary.

back offices

Where workers are able to communicate with customers and the head office through computer and phone systems, they can be located anywhere where these technologies are available.

trading blocs

Groups of countries that agree to a common set of trade rules. Examples: NAFTA, ASEAN, Mercosur.

newly industrialized countries (NICs)

Countries that have industrialized the the last few decades. Often have cheap labor force and are able to provide manufacturing for TNCs. Example: China, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand.

transnational corporations (TNCs)

Companies that operate in more than one country.

new international division of labor

Core-Periphery Model - a system of employment in the various economic sectors spread throughout the world: Core countries (MDCs) are rapidly increasing quaternary sectors with emphasis on research and development. Middle income countries (semi-periphery) such as China, Mexico, and Indonesia (NICs) have increased secondary (manufacturing) jobs, and the least developed countries (periphery) may export minerals and resources to be used in production process.

export processing zones (EPZs)

These are physical spaces within a country where special regulations benefit foreign-controlled businesses. They are often situated near international airports, seaports, or land borders from where the products are exported easily.

postindustrial

Economy that no longer employs large numbers of people in factories. Most people are producing services and processing information. (few primary and secondary jobs and more tertiary, quaternary, and quinary jobs)

brownfields

Sites of abandoned factories that are no longer in use.

Rust Belt

The Northeast and lands around the Great Lakes where there are many abandoned factories. These areas were hit hardest by deindustrialization.

corporate parks

Areas of low-rise office buildings that are located on the edges of communities where land is inexpensive and near residential areas. Designed for cars with small and curvy roads. Often have park-like, spacious lawns, sidewalks, walking trails, and sitting areas.

industrial parks

Areas of large factories or warehouses that are located on the edges of communities where land is inexpensive and near residential areas. Designed for trucks with wide and straight roads. This area is all about function. Often located near break-of-bulk points and/or highways/interstates.