Dr. Susan P. Mains, Geography GE21001 Dynamic Human Worlds Economic Geography, Lecture 2: Producers, Products, Places and Consumers Dr. Susan P. Mains, Geography

Lecture Outline Defining Economic Geography The Story of Bottled Water (2010) with Annie Leonard http://vimeo.com/10441794 Producers Products Places Consumers

Defining Economic Geography What is economic geography? Why is it important? How are people, economics and places interrelated?

Defining Economic Geography Economics: the study of how societies distribute limited resources Economic Geography: studies the locations, spatial organizations, and forms of activities related to the distribution of limited resources

Producers, Products, Places and Consumers What is the ‘stuff’ of the economy? Everything that people produce in whatever WORK they do Material goods (stuff we can touch): food, shelter, clothes, phones, art, jewellery, etc Services (things we do but can’t touch): teaching, childcare, healthcare, accounting, entertainment, administration, etc.

Producers, Products, Places and Consumers The Economy in Your Neighbourhood What work do people do in your neighbourhood (paid and unpaid)? What things do people consume to stay alive? What is being produced? What happens with the extra products or profits? Are they reinvested in the local economy? How do people and businesses finance their bills? Where do they get the money? Is the local environment healthy or being degraded?

Producers, Products, Places and Consumers The Story of Bottled Water Producers: drinks beverage makers multi-national corporations ‘footloose’ industries Small scale producers Economies of scale

Producers, Products, Places and Consumers Meeting a demand for a good or service Creating a demand for a good or service Diversifying products Limiting range of products Fashion—conspicuous consumption ‘shelf-life’

Producers, Products, Places and Consumers Where are the sites of production? Who consumes goods and services and where are they? How do goods and services travel? What if they can’t travel? Where do they end up How do legislation/markets/tastes in different places influence what is bought and sold?

"One World: One Taste" McDonalds, undated http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=364

Living on up to $10 Territory size shows the proportion of all people living on US$10 purchasing power parity or less a day worldwide, that live there. "There is no work here, and when you do find a job, you earn pathetically low wages. I'm a factory watchman, and I earn the equivalent of eight dollars for a 12-hour day." Pirana, 2005

Living on up to $10 “In Indonesia US$10 buys more than it does in the United States, so comparing earning in US$ alone does allow for the cost of living changing between places. The map shows purchasing power parity (PPP) - someone earning PPP US$10 in Indonesia can buy the equivalent of what PPP US$10 would buy in the United States. As such more practical assessments of individuals’ earnings can be made. In 7 out of the 12 regions more than half of the population live in households where the people live on below PPP US$10 a day. In Central Africa 95% of households have workers earning this little; in Western Europe and Japan less than 1% of the population does. “

Living on over $200 “In 2002, 53 million people in the world lived in households in receipt of US$200 purchasing power parity (PPP) per day. Of these high earners, 58% lived in the United States. Western Europe and South America are also home to quite large populations of high earners. Within Western Europe the most very high earners live in the United Kingdom, Italy and France. The highest earners of South America live primarily in Brazil and Argentina. Few very high earners live in Southern Asia, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Africa.”

Living on over $200

Producers, Products, Places and Consumers Who consumes goods and services and where are they? Who are the biggest producers and who are the biggest consumers? Where are the inequalities in consumption? Environmental, social and political impacts of consumption? How are images of place utilised by producers and consumers? How might these be challenged?