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Economic Lecture Geography
Source: Wheeler et al., p38
Elements in Economic Development
i) Population Characteristics -the rate of demographic growth and structure and the makeup of the population ii) Cultural Attribute -is fundamental to the climate of economic change -mutual interaction with population characteristics -traditional societal attitude is considered as barriers iii) Technology -must be available at the location iv) Energy and Other Resources -must be used at the location, but many kinds of resources could be imported or moved within a country v) Government role -U.S. defense spending accounts for about one-fourth of all government outlay in 1990 -the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD); the 25 companies with the largest contracts typically account for 50 percent of total DOD expenditure. "St. Louis, home of McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics, the two largest defense contractors, accounted for 12 percent of all Pentagon contract dollars in 1989" (38).
Economic Geography vs. Economics
Idiographic Vs. Nomothetic
Idiographic
-a description of an event without explanation of the event or a systemization of similar events -emphasize what is unique ex) Richard Hartshorne's areal differentiation: differences rather than similarities between places
Nomothetic
-explanations which are concerned with
establishing generalizations
-employs statistical and mathematical
techniques
Human geography:
-the essence of the geographic approach is that it is spatial -is concerned with the ways in which human activities are arranged on the surface of the earth and the processes which lead to such spatial patterns
Economic geography:
-study of the spatial patterns of economic activities -the field of human geography that seeks to understand patterns of economic activities -recognizes the interrelationship of economic activities and correlations with other places -unlike the economists, the economic geographers recognize that economic entities occupy space and have a spatial dimension -considers the geographic arrangements produced by economic forces.
Subfields of Economic Geography
Source: Wheeler et al. 1998, p 6
Primary activities: -involve the extraction and utilization of resources, as in mining, forestry, hunting, and agriculture -humans and environment have direct physical contact Secondary activities: -involve manufacturing goods; process, transform, and assemble goods Tertiary activities: -involve serving customers by providing goods and services Quaternary sector: - is related to knowledge and information-related services ex) tax consultant, researchers -is increasingly recognized in the industrialized countries Transportation and communication cut across and connect all four sectors. In addition, governmental and institutional sectors interact with the four major sectors.
Places or Locations
Absolute Location
-position in relation to a conventional grid system designed solely for locative purposes -location does not change over time ex) Latitude and Longitude
Relative Location
-position with respect to other locations -is expressed in values other than traditional distance units -units change over time ex) accessibility
The nature of relative space
-Until 1950, geographers usually
thought of and hypothesized about distance in absolute terms. e.g. miles. -Since then, space was thought of as relative. e.g. shrinkable and expandable
Site Vs. Situation Factors
Site Factors
-refer to the characteristics of location -have advantages and disadvantages for different locational purposes ex) Population, Physical Features -site analysis: understanding geographic distribution at a local level
Situation Factors
- refer to the relative location in conjunction with the with relationships other relevant locations e.g. accessibility, the direction of some place from another place Complexity of analysis due to the first law of geography: everything in space is related to others; ones in proximity have greater influence than ones in distant location
Source: Greene and Pick 2005, p 10
Sunbelt Growth (Greene's Exploring Urban Community):
Greene, Richard P., 2006. Exploring The Urban Community/A GIS Approach. Pearson Prentice Hall: NJ.
Sunbelt defines cities that are located below the 37th parallel (Bernard and Rice,
1983) is associated with an image of cities with amenity-rich coastal settings and abundant job generation e.g. Miami, Florida was related to defense and other federal spending (Tabb and Sawers, 1984) a boom in high-tech industries as well as expanded service and information economy the introduction of moderate-priced air conditioning after WWII relatively higher availability of jobs and competitive wages in the South and West (Greenwood and Hunter, 1989; Piet, 1998) oil and gas exploration and development in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana in the 1970s and early 1980s an magnet of economic growth: the concentration of recreation and the tourism industry in Florida, Southern California, and Las Vegas (Manson and Groop, 1996) the second generation of baby boomers (Borchert, 1983) vs. economic downturn of the Northeast and Midwest in 1970s (Plane 1992) the tendency of immigrants who settle near their points of entry(Carlson, 1994; Champion, 1992, 1994; Frey, 1993, 1995): European Immigrants from the Civil War to WWI; Latin Americans and Asians after the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965.
Spatial Distribution, Process and Structure
Spatial Distribution:
-The frequency at which things occur in space -If everything were evenly distributed in space, there would be no need for geography -It is not the distributions themselves that excite geographers but rather that distributions vary in pattern and intensity from place to place
Spatial Processes:
-mechanisms which influence spatial distributions
Spatial Structure:
-the location of each element of the distribution relative to all other elements
Spatial process creates spatial structure e.g. Long Isla...