Economic and Industrial Geography Terms

1. Economic and Industrial Geography Terms

2. Foreign direct investment • The total of overseas business investments made by private companies

3. Purchasing Power Parity • A monetary measurement taking into account what money actually buys in a country

4. Technology Gap • The contrast between the technology available in the core and present in the periphery

5. Technology Transfer • The diffusion or acquisition by one culture or region of the technology possessed by another

6. Agglomeration • When a substantial number of enterprises cluster in the same area, as in a large industrial city, they can provide assistance to each other through shared talents, services and facilities

7. Agglomeration Economies • agglomeration economies refers to savings or benefits derived from the clustering of activities

8. Assembly Line/Fordism • Traditionally in large factories each worker was assigned one specific task to perform repeatedly

9. Bid Rent Theory • a geographical theory that refers to how the price and demand on land changes as the distance towards the CBD (Central Business District) increases.

10. Break of Bulk Point • The location (usually a port) where a shipment is divided into parts. This usually (such as at the port) happens where a transfer of the shipment between transport modes occurs, such as between water and land at a port.

11. Comparative Advantage • Principle whereby places and regions specialize in activities for which they have the greatest advantage in productivity relative to other regions----or for which they have the least disadvantage

12. Deglomeration • The process of industrial deconcentration in response to technological advances and/or increasing costs due to congestion and competition

13. Deindustrialization • a relative decline in industrial employment in core regions

14. Economies of Scale • Savings that accrue from large-scale production when the unit cost of manufacturing decreases as the level of operation enlarges

15. Ecotourism • Aims to inform about the natural environment

16. Export Processing Zone • Small areas within which especialy foavorble investment and trading conditions are created by governments in order to attract export oriented industries

17. Footloose Industry • an industry whose production costs are unaffected by location • many modern industries have components which are much easier to transport, giving them much more choice of location

18. Industrial Regions • Western and Central Europe • Eastern North America • Russia and Ukraine • Eastern Asia

19. Industrial Revolution • A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods

20. Infrastructure • The foundations of society: • Urban centers • Transport networks • Communications • Energy systems • Educational facilities • Farms, factories, mines

21. International Division of Labor • The specialization by countries in particular products for export

22. Labor-Intensive • An industry for which labor costs comprise a high percentage of total expenses

23. Least-Cost Location • Model developed by Weber according to which the location of manufacturing establishments is determined by the minimalization of cost

24. maquiladora • Factories built by US companies in Mexico near the US border to take advantage of much lower labor costs in Mexico • Imported components or raw materials are assembled and then finished products are exported • An example of an export processing zone

25. Market orientation • Production of a good will be located near the market if the cost of transporting goods to consumers is a critical locational factor • Bulk gaining • Single market • Perishable • Example of a situation factor

26. Multiplier effect • Expansion of economic activity caused by the growth or introduction of another activity

27. NAFTA • North American Free Trade Agreement • 1994 • Created a free trade area between US, Mexico and Canada • Provides for tariff free movement of goods, products, financial services, telecommunications, investment and patent protection

28. outsourcing • The process of transfering a function or service to a third party • Generally takes advantage of low wages in semi-peripheral or periphery countries

29. postindustrial • An emerging economy in technologically advanced countries as traditional industry is overshadowed by a high-tech productive complex dominated by services and info related and managerial activities

30. Resource orientation • If the weight and bulk of any one input is particularly great, the firm may locate near the source of that input to minimize transportation costs • Bulk reducing industries • Copper • Steel

31. Special economic zones (China) • SEZ’s • A specific area within a country in which tax incentives and less stringent environmental regulations are implemented to attract foreign businesses and investment • a geographical region that has economic laws that are more liberal than a country's typical economic laws

34. Substitution principle • From Weber, when one cost decreases a firm can endure higher costs in another area

35. Threshold/range • Range is the maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a service • Threshold is the minimum number of people needed to support the service

36. Transnational corporation • A company that conducts research, operates factories and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located

37. Weight gaining • an industry that makes something that gains volume or weight during production • Bulk gaining industries

38. Weight losing • An economic activity in which the final product weighs less than its inputs • Bulk reducing • Copper • Steel

39. World cities • Most closely integrated into the global economic system because they are at the center of the flow of information and capital • London • New York • Tokyo