Economic activity – the essentials!
Economic Geography can also be known as Industry. Many of the CE examination questions begin by
focusing on what jobs people do. Here are some examples:PRIMARY
SECONDARY
TERTIARY
QUATERNARY
Farming
car factory
shop work
biotech technicians
Fishing
clothes factory
doctors/nurses
systems analysts
Quarrying
building
teachers
Mining
oil refinery
museum
You may be asked to identify Primary, Secondary and Tertiary activities from the OS map extract that
comes with the paper:-
Mill Fm = Primary Activity
Hillington Industrial Estate = Secondary activity
National Gallery, Information Centre, Police station = Tertiary
activity
You also need to be able to link the level of economic development (simply, how rich a country
is)and the percentage of population working in each of the above sectors:Generally, the poorer the country is (LEDC) the
higher the %age of people working in PRIMARY
employment (mainly farming and fishing). The
richer a country becomes (MEDC), the higher
the %age of people working in TERTIARY
activity (shops, museums, schools, hospitals,
councils etc.). Some countries, like Brazil lie
somewhere in the middle.
You will then be asked questions focused on case study knowledge. Be warned that the question
may ask you to comment on pictures/graphs/diagrams – you should be able to APPLY your
knowledge and understanding from your case studies when answering such questions.
You may be asked to identify the INPUTS, THROUGHPUTS (Processes) and OUTPUTS for your chosen
case study in either an MEDC (Toyota in your case) or LEDC (Nike in Indonesia in your case). Let’s
take Toyota as an example:INPUTS
THROUGHPUTS (processes)
Car parts from
suppliers
Assembling
OUTPUTS
Finished Product
(car)car
Spray Painting
Capital (money for
Profit
Testing
factory)
Following this, you might be asked to explain why your chosen company located where it did. Again,
the examiner may ask you to focus on either an LEDC or an MEDC. For example, your case study for
an LEDC is NIKE in INDONESIA – why did it locate here? To summarise from your case study sheet:Cheap labour
weak/no trade unions Cheap land
few pollution controls tax breaks
You may then be asked to describe and explain the impacts of your chosen company on the country
it has located in. In the case of NIKE:POSITIVES - more jobs better infrastructure (roads, railways) more trade
NEGATIVES - poor wages
skills grow
poor working conditions pollutes environment
stops home industries growing
There could be a question asking you about the effect on the home country (where the HQ of the
company is located). In Nike’s case, the USA. Negative effects include: Loss of jobs, loss of income for
the company and taxman - taxes important for the government to spend on improving infrastructure
(roads etc.) and services:Make sure you know why Toyota located in
Burnaston, Derby:The
Multiplier
Plenty of land
Effect
cheaper land than SE England
skilled workers
Good transport links
Felixstowe for export to Europe
Within EU so no import tax on cars sold to
rest of EU counties
Benefits – jobs, more money for council,
people need houses, more money for shops
Disadvantages – greenbelt land built on,
noise and air pollution