R

4.3: the industrial revolution and growth pole theory

the industrial revolution

hearth of the industrial revolution: England

  • abundance of natural resources (coal → fuel)
  • government promotion of industrialization
    • private property, laissez-faire policy, let businesses operate relatively freely
    • free speech → spread of ideas
  • infrastructure
    • canals, toll roads, railroads
  • massive urbanization movement
    • growth of cities = boom in factory jobs = boom in productivity
    • large unskilled workforce available for low wages

industrialization

  • England → Europe → United States (interrupted by Civil War) → Japan (50 years later) → South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong (post-WWII) → China (1979 start)
  • spread by imperialism, slowed by tariffs
  • imperialism boomed
    • need for new markets + raw materials (eg. rubber for bicycles)
    • Africa has lots of natural resources
    • infrastructure built by Europeans but built to benefit Europe → poverty in Africa, all natural resource extraction benefits Europe (exploitation)
  • industrialization = power
    • exceptions of this theory: India and Brazil (increase in population, decrease in manufacturing)

growth poles

  • growth pole theory posits that economic growth takes place at clusters, or “poles,” rather than being equally dispersed across a region, grouped by key industries (eg. automotive, aeronautical, agribusiness, electronics, steel) in an area
  • the key industry/core industry of an area obtains goods and services from suppliers (upstream linked industries) and providing goods and services to customers (downstream linked industries)
    • these are the direct effects; indirect effects include employee demand for key industries’ goods and services
  • expansion of the core industry means expansion of output, employment, related investments, new technologies, and new industrial sectors
  • regional development is unequal due to scale and agglomeration economies located near the growth pole
    • the relationship will be stronger and more likely to occur if the activity is more dependent on transportation; this can lead to the creation of secondary growth poles