Economic Activity - 4.1 The relative importance of different economic sectors and the location of economic activities varies spatially and over time.

Reasons for the changing number of people in economic sectors

1. Availability of raw materials 2. Globalisation 3. Mechanisation 4. Demographic changes 5. Government policies

% of people employed in tertiary sector in UK in 2015

78

Economic Sector

A major group within an economy which produces similar types of products. Economic sectors are broken up into primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary.

Factors affecting location of tourism (tertiary)

A recent development in UK cities has been the growth of businesses parks on the urban fringes. These parks are built on flat, cheap land which is easily accessible by main roads. These parks are home to many IT companies, finance companies, pharmaceuticals etc. Companies which do not need any resources, only a skilled workforce.

Factors affecting location of economic activity

Accessibility This is a key factor as it needs to be close to markets, labour and customers. This is why towns centres and city centres (CBD) are an ideal location for shops and offices. However, many economic activities are located away from town centers but most will require good transport links to allow for raw materials/ goods/ customers to get to and from the area. Employees Factories and industries need to have employees to work there so they need to be within driving distance from towns and cities. Some industries will need skilled well educated employees so they locate near universities and cities with a large pool of employees. Cheap flat land Business parks and industrial estates need space to expand and for car parks so they need cheap flat land usually found out urban fringes.

Reasons new technology has changed the number of people working in certain economic sectors

Advances in technology have directly impacted many economic sectors and has allowed mechanisation of some sectors. Mechanisation is when machinery and technology reduces the need/ replaces human labour (e.g. mechanisation of agriculture). The developed of huge container ships has made it cheaper and easier to move large quantities of goods around the world. This has resulted in the shift of manufacturing from developed to developing and emerging countries where production costs are cheaper. Developments in communications (internet, emails, social media, phone calls) has resulted in the transfer of information and money around the world almost instantaneously. This means that offices no longer have to be located physically close to each other.

Reasons globalisation has changed the number of people working in certain economic sectors

Advances in transport and communication technology have made is cheaper and quicker to do business and move goods around the world. A lot of manufacturing has shifted from developed countries to developing and emerging countries as it is cheaper for big companies like Nike, Apple etc to have their goods made abroad due to cheap labour, low taxes. Call centers for British banks are no longer based in the UK but in places like India as it is more cost effective as wages are lower but good levels of education and English being widely spoken means India is an ideal location for British call centers.

Disposable income

After people have bought the basics requirements (e.g. food and clothes) the money they have left is known as disposable income which can be spent on non-essential goods and services such as entertainment, holidays, eating our and recreation.

Factors affecting location of science parks (quaternary)

Are usually located near universities so there is a good supply of skilled workers. They often work in partnership with IT or pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs and technology. These are called HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES. The land is usually flat and cheap for further development. Good accessibility is also very important.

Reasons increased disposable income (social change) changed the number of people working in certain economic sectors

As people have more money to spend on goods and services more people are employed in the tertiary sector.

Changing location secondary economic activity over time

As roads and rail have developed more over time, it has made accessibility easier and cheaper. This means that factories don't necessarily need to be very close to mines anymore. Energy is now provided by electricity from grid networks so no need to be close to coal mines.

Reasons population increase (demographic change) changes the number of people working in certain economic sectors

As time goes on, most populations increase. The more people there are, the more demand there is for goods (e.g. food and manufactured goods) and services (e.g. education and medical). Increased demand for goods and services boosts economic sectors to varying degrees.

Industrial stage Clark Fisher Model

As time passes, manufacturing increases - new factories spring up in many locations and investments are made in infrastructure to encourage factories to be set up. So the secondary sector grows in importance. The tertiary sector also grows (but not as fast). The primary sector continues to decline in this period as the country industrialises. Change driven by demand for more products in the country or wealthier countries investing in manufacturing sector. It is also driven by the mechanisation of agriculture meaning more people are available to work in the secondary sector.

Reasons government policy in China influenced the number of people working in certain economic sectors

China has concentrated on developing their manufacturing industry and the government has set up Special Economic Zones where taxes for businesses are lower to encourage factories to set up there. The Chinese government are now focusing on improving technology to make manufacturing more efficient and mechanised. As the secondary sector becomes more mechanised more people will be available to work in the tertiary and quaternary sectors.

Demographic change

Demographic change means the change in population structure (e.g. increase/ decrease population, changing age of the population).

Pre-industrial stage Clark Fisher Model

Developing countries have high amounts of primary industries as there is a lack of education and they are mainly subsistence farmers - agriculture is the most important activity. There are very few jobs in the tertiary and manufacturing sectors, due to lack of money to set up these factories or build them.

Globalisation

Globalisation is the process by which the world has been gradually drawn together in a single GLOBAL ECONOMY by a growing number of links and networks.

Emerging countries

Have high or medium human development (e.g. China, India)

Developing countries

Have low human development, poor countries (e.g. Nepal, Sri Lanka)

Developed countries

Have very high human development, rich countries (e.g. UK, UAE, Italy)

Factors affecting location of tourism (tertiary)

Hotels and other tourist facilities are often found in areas of cultural and historical interest (e.g. Rome) or near physical features (e.g. Davos ski resort in Switzerland/ Hawaii).

Post-industrial stage Clark Fisher Model

In this stage the tertiary sector becomes most important. Secondary sector tends to die away due to mechanisation. Also people maybe more educate and want "better" jobs and more pay. As wage expectations increase secondary sector activities become unprofitable so they move overseas to developing and emerging countries where production costs are less. As more people start to live in towns, there is a growing demand for various services - from health and education to transport and finance. Quaternary jobs begin to form too as the country becomes wealthier and has the money to invest in this sector. Also people are better educated as more money has been invested in education so they are more able to engage in quaternary sector.

Primary Sector

Involves the extraction of raw materials to be supplied to other industries (e.g. farming, fishing, forestry and mining).

Sectoral shift

Is the changing importance of each sector to the economy over time and between countries.

Quaternary sector

Is the knowledge based part of the economy. It is the industries who provide information services such as computing, ICT (information and communication technologies), consultancy (offering advice to businesses) and R&D (research, particularly in scientific fields).

Mechanisation

Is when machinery and technology reduces the need/ replaces human labour.

Changing location primary industry over time

It is difficult for primary sector to change location over time. These industries need to be near physical attributes which man can not change. They only change to note, is that now many countries are buying raw materials from abroad as it is cheaper and certain foods are also being imported because it is cheaper.

Tertiary sector

Jobs which provide goods and services for the public (e.g. transporting goods, retail, doctors, teachers, catering).

Reasons raw materials are expensive to extract

Less raw material being available making it more difficult to extract them or increased costs of extraction due to higher wages and improving health and safety laws.

Factors affecting location of mining (primary)

Mining for coal, iron ore and limestone means that this industry needs to be close to the raw material. This could be anywhere however, good road and rail links are needed and hence develop after the discovery of the raw material. PHYSICAL factors are the most important in this economic sector.

Clark Fisher Model

Model showing the changing EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE in countries at different stages of DEVELOPMENT

Manufacturing is no longer tied to coal fields

Most energy for manufacturing now comes from electricity which can be transported to places that need energy using grid networks.

Factors affecting location of heavy manufacturing (secondary)

Raw materials such as coal, iron ore and limestone are needed in heavy industries such as steel manufacturing. Therefore, heavy industries need to be near mines, main roads and main railway lines to transport these goods. The closer these factories are to the raw goods, the cheaper it is for them to manufacture the goods. They also need a reliable, large work force so these factories need to be close to populated areas. They also need space for such large machinery. They also need a good supply of energy.

Economic Activity

Refers to the production of food, making of goods from raw materials and the provision of services. Every economic activity creates employment and produces something for sale or consumption.

Factors affecting location of retail (tertiary)

Shops need to be accessible to customers otherwise businesses would fail. So they need to be close to main roads, preferably in a central location and near a customer base.

Social change

Social change is the change in the situations of people in society which can include increased wealth, more equality and rights (e.g. for women).

Changing location retail (tertiary economic activity) over time

The local High Street used to be the place people went shopping. Each area had its own high st which provided many services such as banks, local library, shops and other things. People's needs changed over time and they want everything under one roof (e.g. shopping, entertainment). The increase in the number of people owning cars meant that shops could move to the edges of the cities (urban fringe) to cheaper land with more space for expansion and we saw the growth of retail parks (often near motorways). Until the mid 1990s UK government policy was to encourage the development of retail parks on the urban fringe and this led to the "Death of the High Street" (shops closing due to lack of customers) in many UK cities). Since the mid 1990s the government have tightened planning permission (Town Centers First Plan) for out of town retail parks in an attempt to try and combat the Death of the High Street. However, it hasn't been very successful due to the high rents of shops in the city centers.

Secondary Sector

These are when raw materials are assembled or manufactured to produce finished goods (e.g. food processing, ship building, construction of houses).

Triangular Graph

These graphs allow you to present 3 pieces of data on one graph in the form of percentages which all add up to 100%. These are graphs with three axis instead of two, taking the form of an equilateral triangle. The important features are that each axis is divided into 100, representing percentage. From each axis lines are drawn at an angle of 60 degrees to carry the values across the graph.

Reasons government policy in UK influenced the number of people working in certain economic sectors

They provide low interest loans and subsidies to farmers to encourage them to keep growing their products. Without this support it is likely that very little farming would exist in the UK due to very high running costs.

Employment structure

This shows how the workforce is divided between main employment sectors. It changes over time and from country to country.