lecture 11 - Kondratiev Cycles Tendency for major...

Kondratiev Cycles
- Tendency for major innovations to cluster together in distinct cycles or waves
- Named after Soviet economist
- Cycles last (approx.) 50 -60 years; each one associated with distinct technologies
- 5 cycles distinguished since late 18 th century (note: each cycle consists of 2 distinct
phases-one growth, the other stagnation);
o Early Mechanization – late 18 th century
o Steam power/railway – mid 19 th century
o Electrical/heave engineering- early 20 th century
o Fordist mass engineering- early 20
th
century
o Information/communication – early 21 st century
Summary
- Economic geography: “The study of how people earn their living, how livelihood systems
vary by area, and how economic activities are spatially interrelated and linked”
- Categories of economic systems: primary-secondary-tertiary-quaternary
- Types of economic systems: subsistence-commercial-planned
- Geographic expressions of economic activity: heartland-hinterland (core-periphery)
- Economic development is “highly uneven” – what does this mean? Why is economic