Unit 3 - Economic change Flashcards
What is the definition of a Primary Industry?
An industry that extracts raw materials directly from the earth or sea. For example, mining, farming or oil drilling.
What is the definition of a Secondary Industry?
An industry that processes and manufactures products from raw materials. For example, a bakery, a tannery or a car factory.
What is the definition of a Tertiary Industry?
An industry that provides a service. For example, a nursing, modeling or a secretary.
What is the definition of a Quaternary Industry?
An industry that incorporates a high degree of research and development that employs high skilled workers. For example, computer programming or cosmetic research.
What are the reasons for the decline in the primary sector in the UK?
Depletion of raw materials such as coal - In 1913 production of coal peaked at 287 million tonnes (with 1 million employees) but in 2007 it was only 70 million (with 5,500 employees).
Cheap imports - Talbot imports steel and coal from Russia and China.
Social change - People see primary jobs to be more difficult, low paying and with no chance of promotion.
Mechanisation - Has led to the replacement of workers, for example, farm machinery pick crops instead of a workforce.
Why did the secondary industry in the UK increase for a period?
It rose due to industrialisation and the UK’s industrial revolution.
What are the reasons for the decline in secondary industry in the UK?
Globalisation - Modern communication, such as the internet, allows companies to communicate globally and outsource their manufacturing. Developments in transportation, such as European road networks, have also meant goods can be transported easily. M&S for example have setup factories in Poland, Sri Lanka, Portugal and Morocco where goods are then distributed around Europe.
Cheaper production costs in LICs and MICs - Goods can be produced cheaply due to lower wages, health regulations and low costing land. Governments also do not have regulations on pollution so waste does not have to be expensively processed, this means manufacturing moved from the UK to countries like China and India where there are large workforces. In the 1980s 40% of Birmingham worked in manufacturing but in 2007 only 20% did.
Mechanisation- The increased use of machinery in manufacturing has significantly lowered the workforce needed, the Honda factory in Swindon now uses robots on the production line for jobs such as to paint cars.
Government Policies - The government withdrew most of its help to the UK’s secondary industries. In 1967 the British Steel PLC was formed to protect the steel industry but was sold in 1988 to private ownership. The government however still tries to encourage foreign companies and offers incentives for those who setup in areas of high unemployment, for example Toyota was given incentives, such as grants to make its factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire.
What are the main reasons for the major growth of secondary industry in China?
Political - All industries were owned by the government but now 20% are privately owned.
Government policy - The new ‘open door’ policy allows for foreign firms to outsource their secondary industry to China, for example, a Taiwanese company EURA makes coffee machines and employees 23,000.
Infrastructure - Many new roads have been built to improve transportation
Energy - The government set-up many new hydroelectric and nuclear plants to power the new industries.
Education - There is a mixture of skilled and unskilled workers (600,000 new engineers a year)
Workforce - In the next 20 years 500,000 will migrate from the country side.
Safety for the workforce - Costs are kept low due to the lack of health and safety regulations
Wages - People in China are paid less than people in the UK.
Raw materials - China has a lot of natural resources such as coal, oil and natural gas
Trade - China has a long coastline with major ports on trade routes.
What are the advantages of the growth of secondary industry in the China? (effects)
There is less unemployment in urban areas, improving standards of living. The government has spent $172 billion on protecting the environment. New houses are being built which are affordable for the workers meaning less live in shanty towns. Renewable energy will increase by 16% by 2016. Investments are being made into education.
What are the disadvantages of the growth of secondary industry in the China? (effects)
90% of underground water is polluted in urban areas. There is a lack of young, strong workers in rural areas as they have migrated to the urban areas. Urban areas suffer from pollution due to the burning of coal, Linfen is the most polluted city in the world where 3 million are affected. 760,000 die a year due to illness caused by air and water pollution. Workers are poorly paid, most work for 40p an hour. 80% of rivers are affected.
What are the physical causes for the growth of secondary industry in China?
Abundance of raw materials (coal, oil and natural gas). It is located near the developing markets of South Korea, Taiwan and India. It topography consists of a long coastline with ports on major trade routes.
What are the reasons for growth of the tertiary sector in the UK?
Rise in demand of services due to larger disposable incomes - Disposable income doubled from 1986-2006. This has lead to a larger demand for services such as fitness clubs which in 2012 6 million were members of.
The development of new technologies - Large numbers of people are employed to telecommunication, 950,000 worked in call centres in 2008 which came up from 3,500 in 2000.
Demographic changes - The average age for pregnancy is 29 meaning people have more time to spend money on services. Approximately 35% of the UK is over 50 and 20% are over 65 which has led to a large wealthy retired population which has led to the creation of the ‘grey pound’ sector, i.e Saga holidays.
What are the human factors that influence the location of Industry?
Labour - need large amounts of labour, skilled or unskilled.
Transport - can be expensive if goods are heavy, perishable or fragile so this needs to be kept at a minimum.
Markets - Bulky products are best to be manufactured and produced near their markets as to lower transportation costs.
Accessibility - Products, materials, customers and deliveries need to be able to leave and access the site easily so it is best to be close to main transportation networks.
Leisure facilities - Used to attract a higher skilled workforce (mainly affects quaternary)
Government policy - Governments may give grants to businesses to set-up in areas of high unemployment.
What are the physical factors that influence the location of industry?
Raw materials - Factories have to be close to their required materials to minimise transportation cost (e.g. coal or limestone)
Power - In the past factories needed to be close to coal or fast-flowing rivers.
Site - Flat land is needed for large industry to build on and close to raw materials. The land must also be cheap so larger industries are normally set-up on the outskirts of cities and towns. Best to be close to natural routes such as river valleys, flat land and seas.
Benefits of de-industrialisation in Cornwall (The Eden Project)
The extraction of China Clay left many pits full of water, one of which is now used for the Eden project. The pit is 60m deep and covers an area of 35 football pitches. When the quarries shut, a number of people lost their jobs and the local government lost income. The pit now has been transformed into a tourist attraction with landscaped walks, a huge diversity of plants and two enormous pods. The project employees 500 staff and provides jobs for approximately 3000 other people in restaurants, hotels and suppliers. Since its opening in 2001 it has contributed over 1 billion pounds to the Cornish economy.
