ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

ROSTOW MODEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROSTOW’S FIVE STAGES OF GROWTH OF SOCIETIES: Walt Rostow, economist, advisor to President Johnson in 1960s. Traditional Society – pre-Scientific revolution; incremental improvements, low technology Preconditions for takeoff: Commitment to education, accumulation of capital, manufacturing sector develops, charismatic leader Takeoff: economics motivate society more than traditions Drive to maturity: economic development becomes self-sustaining. Less poverty, rising standards of living Age of mass consumption: people and economy concentrate on consumer goods and maintaining a high standard of living.

ECONOMIC SYSTEMS HOW PEOPLE ORGANIZE THEIR ECONOMIES THREE TYPES

BARTER OR SUBSISTENCE Production for subsistence Limited exchange within kin and tribe Little use of currency Uncommon in today’s world

MARKET ECONOMY Sometimes also called commercial Production of goods for market Law of supply and demand; prices fluid Highly interactive and competitive Seeks new markets

COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

COMMAND or PLANNED ECONOMIES Government agencies make final economic decisions Stable prices and supply Communism, socialism, wartime capitalist economies On decline in today’s world

PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES HARVESTING AND EXTRACTING DIRECTLY FROM THE EARTH INCLUDES: AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, FISHING, MINING, OIL DRILLING

FORESTRY Tree farms Different types of forest Demand for tropical woods for plywood Clear cutting, logging in national forests Value of some tree species

TOTAL FOREST COVER

FISHING Danger of overfishing since 1970s – rise of factory ships (below) Places where fish catches tend to be large? Rise of fish farming

OIL DRILLING

MINING

AGRICULTURE Extensive subsistence Intensive sedentary Plantation Mediterranean Commercial

SWIDDEN or “SLASH & BURN” Practiced in tropical rain forest areas of thin soils Area is first burned Ash fertilizes soil over a period of years Area is planted until soil fertility decreases Group moves on and process is repeated

MEDITERRANEAN In Mediterranean climate zones Olives (right), figs, dates, vegetables of all kinds Some of most productive agricultural areas in world

PLANTATION Usually introduced crops. Strictly commercial Very labor intensive Large tracts of land under cultivation Areas tend to be oligarchic in structure

SEDENTARY INTENSIVE Village-based Subsistence Based on grain cultivation – rice, maize Supports large populations in East Asia

INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE COMMERCIAL Intensive commercial e.g.– truck farming Extensive commercial – e.g. cattle ranching

EXTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE Includes swidden Also herders in difficult climates Requires large areas to support small populations

SECONDARY ACTIVITIES Manufacturing and refining Changing and improving natural resources into other products

WEBER’S LEAST COST THEORY OF MFG. LOCATION To be profitable, a manufacturer must choose a location where they can economize costs in: Labor Transportation Agglomeration

TERTIARY ACTIVITIES Professional, retail, service Mobile and footloose Usually educated Middle class

QUATERNARY ACTIVITIES “Knowledge workers” Deal with information Highly educated “Think tanks” Government capitols Financial analysts Research universities and hospitals