agglomeration
Grouping together of many firms from the same industry in a single area for collective or cooperative use of infrastructure and sharing of labor resources
ancillary activities
Economic activities that surround and support large-scale industries such as shipping and food service
anthropocentric
Human-centered; in sustainable development, anthropocentric refers to ideas that focus solely on the needs of people without considering the creatures with whom we share the planet or the ecosystems upon which we depend
backwash effect
The negative effects on one region that result from economic growth within another region
break-bulk point
A location where large shipments of goods are broken up into smaller containers for delivery to local markets
brick-and-mortar business
Traditional businesses with actual stores in which trade or retail occurs; it does not exist solely on the Internet
bulk gaining industries
Industries whose products weigh more after assembly than they did previously in their constituent parts. Such industries tend to have production facilities close to their markets
bulk reducing industries
Industries whose final products weigh less than their constituent parts, and whose processing facilities tend to be located close to sources of raw materials
conglomerate corporation
A firm that is comprised of many smaller firms that serve several different functions
core
National or global regions where economic power, in terms of wealth, innovation, and advanced technology, is concentrated
core-periphery model
A model of the spatial structure of development in which underdeveloped countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region
cottage industry
An industry in which the production of goods and services is based in homes, as opposed to factories
deglomeration
The dispersal of an industry that formerly existed in an established agglomeration
deindustrialization
Loss of industrial activity in a region
dependency theory
A structuralist model that offers a critique of the modernization model of development. Based on the ide that certain types of political and economic relations (especially colonialism) between countries and regions of the world have created arrangements t
e-commerce
Web-based economic activities
economic backwaters
Regions that fail to gain from economic development
ecotourism
A form of tourism, based on the enjoyment of scenic areas or natural wonders, that aims to provide an experience of nature or culture in an environmentally sustainable way
export-processing zone
Areas where governments create favorable investment and trading conditions to attract export-oriented industries
fast world
Areas of the world, usually the economic core, that experience greatest levels of connection due to high-speed telecommunications and transporation technologies
footloose firms
Manufacturing activities in which cost of transporting both raw materials and finished product is not important for determining the location of the firm
fordism
System of standardized mass production attributed to Henry Ford
foreign investment
Overseas business investments made by private companies
gender equity
A measure of the opportunities given to women compared to men within a given country
globalization
The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected on a global scale such that smaller scales of political and economic life are becoming obsolete
gross national product
The total value of goods and services, including income received from abroad, produced by the residents of a country within a specific time period, usually one year.
industrial revolution
The rapid economic and social change in manufacturing that resulted after the introduction of the factory system to the textile industry in England at the end of the 18th century
industrialization
Process of industrial development in which countries evolve economically, from producing basic, primary goods, to using modern factories for mass-producing goods. At the highest levels of development, national economies are geared mainly torward the deliv
industrialized countries
Those countries including Britain, France, the United States, Russia, Germany, and Japan, that were all at the forefront of industrial production and innovation through the middle of the 20th century. While industry is currently shifting to other countrie
labor-intensive industry
An industry for which labor costs comprise a high percentage of total expenses
least-cost theory
A concept developed by Alfred Weber to describe the optimal location of a manufacturing establishment in relation ot the costs of transport and labor, and the relative advantages of agglomeration or deglomeration.
liberal model
A general term for an economic development model which assumes that (1) all countries are capable of developing economically in the same way and (2) economic disparities between countries and regions are the result of short-term inefficiencies in local or
manufacturing region
A region in which manufacturing activities have clustered together. The major U.S. industrial region has historically been in the Great Lakes, which includes the states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Industrial regions a
Maquiladoras
The U.S. firms that have factories just outside the United States/Mexican border in areas that have been specially designated by the Mexican government. In such areas, factories cheaply assemble goods for export back into the United States
neo-colonialism
The entrenchment of the colonial order, such as trade and investment, under a new guise
Net National Product
A measure of all goods and services produced by a country in a year, including production from its investments abroad, minus the loss or degradation of actual resource capital as a result of productivity
New international divison of labor
Transfer of some types of jobs, especially those requiring low-paid less skilled workers, from more developed to less developed countries
Nonrenewable resources
Natural resources, such as fossil fuels, that do not replenish themselves in a timeframe that is relevant for human consumption
Offshore financial center
Areas that have been specially designed to promote business transactions, and thus have become centers for banking and finance
Outsourcing
Sending industrial processes out for external production. The term outsourcing increasingly applies not only to traditional industrial functions, but also to the contracting of service industry functions to companies to overseas locations, where operating
Periphery
Counties that usually have low levels of economic productivity, low per capita incomes, and generally low standards of living. The world economic periphery includes Africa (except for South Africa), parts of South America, and Asia
Post-Fordist production
Adoption by companies of flexible work rules, such as the allocation of workers to teams that perform a variety of tasks
Primary economic activities
Economic activities in which natural resources are made available for use or further processing, including mining, agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Productivity
A measure of the goods and services produced within a particular country
Purchasing Power Parity
A monetary measurement of development that takes into account what money buys in different countries
Quaternary economic activities
Economic activities concerned with research, information gathering, and administration
Quinary economic activities
The most advanced form of quaternary activities consisting of high-level decision-making for large corporations or high-level scientific research
regionalization
The process by which specific regions acquire characteristics that differentiate them from others within the same country. In economic geography, regionalization involves the development of dominant economic activities in particular regions
renewable resources
Any natural resource that can replenish itself in a relatively short period of time, usually no longer than the length of a human life
Right to work state
A U.S. state that has passed a law preventing a union and company from negotiating a contract that requires workers to join a union as a condition of employment
Rostow's stages of development
A model of economic development that describes a country's progression which occurs in five stages transforming them from least-developed to most-developed countries
Rust Belt
The manufacturing region in the United States that is currently debilitated because many manufacturing firms have relocated to countries offering cheaper labor and relaxed environmental regulations
Secondary economic activities
Economic activities concerned with the processing of raw materials such as manufacturing, construction, and power generation
semi-periphery
Those newly industrialized counties with median standards of living, such as Chile, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia. Semi-peripheral countries offer their citizens relatively diverse economic opportunities but also have extreme gaps between rich and p
service-based economies
Highly developed economies that focus on research and development, marketing, tourism, sales, and telecommunications
site factors
Location factors related to the costs of factors of production inside the plant, such as land, labor, and capital
situation factors
Locations factors related to the transportation of materials into and from a factory
slow world
The developing world that does not experience the benefits of high-speed telecommunications and transportation technology
spatially fixed costs
An input cost in manufacturing that remains constant whereever production is located
spatially variable costs
An input cost in manufacturing that changes significantly from place to place in its total amount and in its relative share of total costs
specialty goods
Goods that are not mass-producted but rather assembled individually or in small quantities
structuralist model
A general term for a model of economic development that treats economic disparities among countries or regions as the result of historically derived power relations within the global economic system
sustainable development
The idea that people living today should be able to meet their needs without prohibiting the ability of future generations to do the same
textile
A fabric made by weaving, used in making clothing
trading bloc
a group of neighboring countries that promote trade with each other and erect barriers to limit trade with other blocs
transnational corporation
A firm that conducts business in at least two separate countries; also know as multinational corporations
underdeveloped countries
Countries that by various measures, suffer seriously from negative economic and social conditions, including low per capita incomes, poor nutrition, inadequate health, and related disadvantaged circumstances
world cities
A group of cities that form an interconnected, internationally dominant system of global control of finance and commerce
world-system theory
Theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein that explains the emergence of a core, periphery, and semi-periphery in terms of economic and political connections first established at the beginning of exploration in the late 15th century and maintained through