Economic Geography

Question: How are economic activity and level of development

interrelated?

Levels of Economic Activity• Primary – involve gathering raw materials (ex.

cutting lumber)• Secondary – involve adding value to materials

by changing their form (ex. manufacturing cars)• Tertiary – involve providing business or

professional services (ex. accountant) • Quaternary – involve providing information,

management, and research services by highly trained persons (ex. physicist)

–Traditional Economy:• Goods and serviced traded without money• bartering

–Communistic Economy:• Production of goods and services are determined Production of goods and services are determined

by a by a central central governmentgovernment

You will only make

blue chairs! We

will sell them for $20 each.

We want

rolling chairs!

We will make rolling chairs!

And make $$$$

Market Economy: determined by supply and demand

Levels of Development• More developed

– Post industrial • US• Western Europe

• Newly industrialized– Mostly industrial or manufacturing

• Latin America

• Less developed– Mainly agricultural

• India• Africa

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Economic support system• Infrastructure:

– Basic support system to keep an economy running. – Includes power, communication, transportation, water,

sanitation, and education systems• Per capita income:

– Average amount of money earned by each person in a political unit

• GNP• Gross National ProductGross National Product• Total value of all good and services produced by a country (per

year)– Example: an American company which makes its product in India

• GDP• Gross Domestic ProductGross Domestic Product• Total value of all goods and services produced within a country

(per year)– Example: an American country that makes is product IN America

Natural Resources and the Economy

• Levels of activity also depend on resources available. Natural resources may be divided into:– RenewableRenewable – Can be replaced through

natural processes (ex. trees)– Non-renewableNon-renewable – Cannot be replaced (ex.

metal)– InexhaustibleInexhaustible – Cannot be used up (ex.

solar energy)