UNIT VI: Economic UNIT VI: Economic Geography Geography
Core:
-wealthy-industrialized-MDC’s
U.S., W. Europe, Japan
Semi-periphery:
-developing-newly industrializing (NIC)
China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Russia
Periphery:
-poor-unindustrialized-LDC’s-the most exploited
Core-Periphery ModelCore-Periphery Model
Types of Industrial ProductionFordist ProductionFordist Production:: assembly-line industrial production for mass consumption (post-WW I)
““Post-FordistPost-Fordist”” Flexible Production Flexible Production:: “post-Fordist” multi-national producers can move production sites through outsourcing (post-WW II)
-role of technology?
Labor costs?outsourcingoutsourcing: to relocate from higher-cost locations to lower cost
– Why make Nike shoes in Vietnam?3 cents per shoe…
WHO “outsources”?
multinational (or transnational) corporations: research, factories, & sell products globally
deindustrialization:manufacturing jobs shifting from MDC’s to developing countries
Abandoned street in Liverpool, England
The former Gautier rolling mills of Bethlehem Steel Corp. in
Johnstown, PA
global division of labor:
labor pool drawn around the world (cheaper resources & labor in the periphery countries)
just-in-time delivery:
short-term production & quick shipping
Supranational Organizations:
3 or more states form an alliance for:
-military (NATO)-economic trade (E.U., NAFTA, WTO)-political (U.N.)
Location Theories
Locational Theories: Locational Theories: predicting where business locates
1. Weber’s Model2. Hotelling’s Model
WeberWeber’’s Least-Cost Theorys Least-Cost Theory::
• transport costs (“optimum point of production”)
• labor costs
agglomeration economies: clustering of firms
- Silicon Valley in California (“technopoletechnopole”)- Bangalore, India (Bollywood)- maquiladoras on the Mexican border (over 3,000 factories)- Export Processing Zones (EPZs); Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s)
A. Describing development
1. world of rich & poor
outdated names: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th World
today: Developed---Developing---Underdeveloped
or MDC---NIC---LDC
geographic description: “North/South line”
Four Asian Tigers
South KoreaHong KongTaiwanSingapore
Hong Kong South Korea Singapore Taiwan
“Measuring’ Development
Economic: ““formal economyformal economy””:: legal economy (measured by GDP)““informal economyinformal economy””:: the illegal or uncounted economy
Noneconomic:– Education– Public Services (access to clean water; sewage)– Health Services (doctors per person)