1.4 Globalization and Development
Learning Objectives
- Recognize that globalization has been a human activity since the era
of European colonialism and that more recent globalization has been
evident in the post–Cold War era through an increase in global
activities by multinational corporations.
- Explain how the concepts of opportunity and advantage
create a stronger rural-to-urban shift and fuel migration in various
regions of the world.
- Understand the dynamics of the core-periphery spatial
relationship and determine whether a country is a part of the core or
periphery by its respective attributes.
- Determine how countries gain national income and which
activities are renewable or have value-added profits. Understand the
vital roles that labor and resources play in the economic situation for
each country.
- Comprehend the patterns illustrated in the index of
economic development—especially in terms of how it illustrates a
country’s development status in regard to family size and economic
indicators. Learn the relationship between the concepts of
rural-to-urban shift, core-periphery spatial relationships, opportunity
and advantage, and haves and have-nots.
Globalization
US President George H. W. Bush gave a speech during his presidency (1988–92) indicating the real possibility of a New World OrderTerm
used by US President George H. W. Bush in a speech in the early 1990s
to address the actions of the Persian Gulf War to remove Saddam Hussein
from Kuwait.. The speech, given during the Persian Gulf
War when Iraq occupied Kuwait, was quite surprising to many, and it
created questions about what he meant. Geographers and professionals in
other disciplines understand that the world is not static. Cultural
forces continue to act on human activities as globalization creates new
alliances and global networks. The goal is to understand globalization
and to make sense of what is happening. The better we understand the
world and human dynamics, the better we will be prepared to address the
changes that are occurring. Geography provides a means to spatially
examine these changes.
GlobalizationThe
integration of networks or systems between multiple countries that
creates exchanges or interdependencies between participating entities.
is a process with a long history. People have been exploring,
migrating, and trading with each other throughout human history, and
these activities have created interactive networks connecting the
different parts of the planet and producing dependent economic
relationships. In modern times, globalization can be recognized by
noting iconic global corporations, such as Walmart, McDonald’s, or
Toyota, that trade across international borders and integrate labor and
resources from different countries to sell a product or service in the
global marketplace. In a number of countries, people have protested
against the building of new Walmarts or McDonalds’, and such protests
exemplify concerns about globalization and the growing expansion of
dominant global economic units into local communities. These ubiquitous
corporations represent corporate interests that are primarily concerned
with company profits. Global corporations tend to view countries or
communities as either markets for their products or sources of labor or
raw materials. Globalization can seriously impact local communities for
better or for worse, depending on local circumstances. The main force
that encourages globalization is economic activity based on
technological advancements. Cultural and societal changes often occur as
a consequence and are no less significant.
Political
geography examines geography’s influence on political systems and
globalization, which are related to issues concerning the development of
borders and the distribution of government types. One of the most
significant events in political geography was colonialismThe development of colonies outside the home country, usually for economic gain or expansion of the empire., which is connected to the development of capitalism. Eric Wolf, in his book Europe and the People without History,
details the expansion of European powers throughout the world to
control both human and natural resources as well as expand a country’s
world power and promote Christianity. The British parliamentary system
of government was exported to various areas of the British Empire. Now
the parliamentary system is used throughout the world in former British
colonies and throughout the British Commonwealth. Additionally,
colonialism helped spread the English language throughout the world, for
example, to India and the United States.
European
colonialism was an early wave of globalization that changed the planet
and shaped most of the world’s current political borders. This early
wave of global conquest was fueled by the Industrial Revolution.
Colonialism transferred technology, food products, and ideas around the
globe in merchant ships that centered on the European power bases of the
colonial empires of Europe—mainly Britain, Spain, France, Portugal, and
the Netherlands. When the United States became independent of these
European colonial powers, it began to extend its power and influence
around the world. Thus the first major wave of globalization was a
result of European colonialism.
The space race and the information ageOften
referred to as the space age or the age of computers and usually marked
by the successful 1957 Earth orbit of the Soviet space craft Sputnik.
The information age took off in the 1990s, which coincided with the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
of the latter portion of the twentieth century initiated a second major
wave of globalization. The space race was a competition between the
United States and the Soviet Union to develop space-related
technologies, including satellites, and to land on the moon. The end of
the Cold War, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, coincided
with advancements in computer technology that fueled the second major
wave in modern globalization. Technology and corporate activity have
stimulated a wave of globalization that is impacting the economies of
countries around the world. In European colonialism, the land and people
were physically conquered by the mother country and became colonies
ruled by the European colonizer’s government. Great Britain was the most
avid colonizer and amassed great fortunes through its colonial
possessions. One difference between European colonialism and
globalization today is that globally active multinational corporations
do not wish to own the country or run the government directly.
Corporations are not concerned with what government type is in power or
who is running the country as long as they can operate and make a
profit. This neocolonialismThe
ability of powerful countries to economically exploit the labor and
resources of weaker countries without taking political control. This
activity is usually accomplished at the corporate level (see corporate
colonialism). (new colonialism or corporate colonialismNeocolonialism
as it applies to the power of multinational corporations to exploit the
labor and resources of a country without taking responsibility for its
physical control.), like European colonialism, continues
to exploit natural resources, labor, and markets for economic profits.
Its critics claim that corporate colonialism is nothing more than a
legal method of pillaging and plundering, and its supporters claim it is
the most efficient use of labor and resources to supply the world with
the lowest-priced products.
Examples
of corporate colonialism can be seen in the trade relationships between
the United States and places such as Mexico and China. US corporations
move their manufacturing plants to Mexico to earn more profits by
exploiting cheap labor. The corporations do not take over Mexico
politically; they exploit it economically. The many US corporations that
have started manufacturing their products in China do not attempt to
overthrow the Communist Chinese government; they want to exploit the
cheap Chinese labor pool and open up markets to sell products to Chinese
consumers. Desire for profits drives corporate colonialism.
Opportunity and Advantage
Considering
the drive of individuals to increase their opportunities or advantages
is one way to understand our world. People who have access to
opportunities and advantages can generally achieve a higher standard of
living than people without. This can be true for individuals, global
corporations, or whole countries. Countries that have an opportunity or
an advantage over others can achieve a higher standard of living for
their people, and countries without such opportunities or advantages
will struggle in a global economy. A country’s opportunities and
advantages can be determined by various factors, such as the amounts of
available natural or human resources, arable land for farming, forests
for timber, and freshwater for fishing or a specific location that
provides a greater access to the world markets. Examples of human
resources are a large labor pool or a high percentage of educated
professionals. Individuals seek to gain opportunities or advantages by
increasing their education, learning new skills that can translate into
higher earning power, or migrating to a place with improved employment
prospects.
Rural-to-urban shiftTrend that occurs when people migrate from a rural to an urban part of the same region in search of opportunities or advantages.
occurs when people move from rural agricultural areas to the cities for
employment or in search of a better life and is an example of a
migration pattern based on people seeking greater opportunities or
advantages. When people migrate from a poorer country to a
postindustrial country, they are seeking opportunities or advantages in
life. The “have” countries are those with opportunities and advantages;
the “have-not” countries are those with fewer opportunities and
advantages for their people or for their country’s future. Migration
patterns around the world usually shift people from places without
resources to places with resources. These migration patterns, which are
evident in rural-to-urban shift and periphery-to-core migration, allow
individuals to seek a greater opportunities or advantages for the
future.
Core-Periphery Spatial Relationship
Economic
conditions vary across the globe. There are wealthy countries and there
are poor countries, and the determination of which countries are
wealthy and which countries are poor has generally been determined by
the availability of economic opportunities and advantages. There are
three core areas of wealthy
industrialized countries, all of which are found in the Northern
Hemisphere: North America, Western Europe, and eastern Asia. The main
market centers of these regions are New York City, London, and Tokyo.
These three core areas and their prosperous neighbors make up the
centers of economic activity that drive the global economy. Other
wealthy countries can be found dispersed in regions with large amounts
of natural resources, such as the Middle East, or places of strategic
location, such as Singapore. The world’s poorer countries make up the peripheral countries. A few countries share qualities of both and may be called semiperipheries.
The
periphery countries and the core countries each have unique
characteristics. Peripheral locations are providers of raw materials and
agricultural products. In the periphery, more people earn their living
in occupations related to securing resources: farming, mining, or
harvesting forest products. For the workers in these occupations, the
profits tend to be marginal with fewer opportunities to advance. In the
periphery, there is a condition known as brain drainThe loss of educated people or professionals from a peripheral area who move to a core area.,
which describes a loss of educated or professional individuals. Young
people leave the peripheral areas for the cities to earn an education or
to find more advantageous employment. Few of these individuals return
to the periphery to share their knowledge or success with their former
community.
Brain
drain also happens on an international level—that is, students from
periphery countries might go to college in core countries, such as the
United States or countries in Europe. Many international college
graduates do not return to their poorer countries of origin but instead
choose to stay in the core country because of the employment
opportunities. This is especially true in the medical field. There is
little political power in the periphery; centers of political power are
almost always located in the core areas or at least dominated by the
core cities. The core areas pull in people, skills, and wealth from the
periphery. Lack of opportunities in the periphery pushes people to
relocate to the core.
Power,
wealth, and opportunity have traditionally been centered in the core
areas of the world. These locations are urbanized and industrialized and
hold immense economic and political power. Ideas, technology, and
cultural activity thrive in these core areas. Political power is held in
the hands of movers and shakers who inhabit the core. The core depends
on the periphery for raw materials, food, and cheap labor, and the
periphery depends on the core for manufactured goods, services, and
governmental support.
The core-periphery spatial relationshipRelationship
between the urban core areas, which hold the economic, political,
educational, cultural, and industrial power, and the rural peripheral
regions, which make their living off the land and provide food and raw
materials to the core but have little power over the markets where these
goods are sold. can be viewed on various levels. On a
local level, one can select eastern Kentucky, with the city of Morehead
as an example. Morehead has a population of about ten thousand people
and is the only significant town in its county. Morehead, with a
university, regional hospital and retail services, serves as a core hub
for the surrounding periphery. The hinterland
of Morehead has an economy based on agriculture, coal mining, and
timber, which is typical of a peripheral region. The city of Morehead
has the political, economic, and educational power that serves the
people of its local area.
If
we move up a level, we can understand that entire regions of the United
States can be identified as peripheral areas: the agricultural Midwest,
rural Appalachia, and the mountain ranges and basins of the western
United States. The large metropolitan areas of the East and West Coasts
and the Industrial Belt act as the core areas. Los Angeles and New York
City anchor each coast, and cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Denver,
and Indianapolis represent the heartland. All the other large cities in
the United States act as core areas for their surrounding peripheral
hinterlands. Southern cities such as Atlanta, Memphis, Dallas, or
Phoenix act as core centers of commerce for the South in a region known
as the Sun Belt.
On
a global scale, we can understand why North America, Western Europe,
and eastern Asia represent the three main economic core areas of the
world. They all possess the most advanced technology and the greatest
economic resources. Core regions control the corporate markets that
energize and fuel global activity. Peripheral regions include portions
of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and all the other places that primarily
make their living from local resources and support the economic core.
These peripheral regions may include key port cities. A semiperiphery
would be a transitional area between the core and the periphery, which
could include countries such as Russia, India, or Brazil that are not
exactly in the core and not really in the periphery but might have
qualities of both. World migration patterns follow the core-periphery
spatial relationship in that people and wealth usually shift from the
peripheral rural regions to the urban core regions. The “have” countries
of the world are in the core regions, while the “have-not” countries
are most likely in the peripheral regions.
National Income Methods
It
is easier to understand why people move from rural to urban, from
periphery to core, from Mexico to the United States when one begins to
understand the global economy. Economic conditions are connected to how
countries gain national income, opportunities, and advantages. One way
of gaining wealth is simply by taking someone else’s wealth. This method
has been common practice throughout human history: a group of armed
individuals attacks another group and takes their possessions or
resources. This is regularly practiced through warfare. Unfortunately,
this pillage-and-plunder type of activity has been a standard way of
gaining wealth throughout human history. The taking of resources by
force or by war is frowned upon today by the global economic community,
though it still occurs. The art of piracy, for example, is still
practiced on the high seas in various places around the globe,
particularly off the coast of Somalia.
The
main methods countries use to gain national income are based on
sustainable national income models and value-added principles. The
traditional three areas of agriculture, extraction/mining, and
manufacturing are a result of primary and secondary economic activities.
Natural resources, agriculture, and manufacturing have been
traditionally targeted as the means to gain national income.
Postindustrial activities in the service sector would include tertiary
and quaternary economic activities, which make up a large part of a
nation’s economy but might not hold the same value-added quotient for
national income as the traditional three areas.
Agriculture
is the method of growing crops or trees or raising livestock that
provides food and some raw materials. The excess is usually sold for
profits. This is a renewable method of gaining wealth, as long as
conditions are favorable. Profits for agricultural products might be low
because of global competition. Countries with minerals, oil, or other
natural resources can earn income from the extraction and sale of those
items. Saudi Arabia and other countries with abundant petroleum reserves
can gain wealth by selling that resource to other countries. Since
these resources are not renewable, once the minerals or oil run out, the
country must turn to other activities to gain national income.
Places
around the world have sometimes been named after the methods used to
gain wealth. For example, the Gold Coast of western Africa received its
label because of the abundance of gold in the region. The term breadbasket
often refers to a region with abundant agricultural surpluses. Another
example is the Champagne region of France, which has become synonymous
with the beverage made from the grapes grown there. Banana republics
earned their name because their large fruit plantations were the main
income source for the large corporations that operated them. Places such
as Copper Canyon and Silver City are examples of towns, cities, or
regions named after the natural resources found there. The United States
had its Manufacturing Belt, referring to the region from Boston to St.
Louis, which was the core industrial region that generated wealth
through heavy manufacturing for the greater part of nineteenth and
twentieth centuries
Manufacturing
has offered the industrialized world the opportunity for the greatest
value-added profits. From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,
solid profits have been made by turning raw materials into useable
products that can be mass-produced and sold in high quantities. The core
areas of the world have all made enormous wealth from manufacturing
profits. Today, information technology and high-tech manufactured
products generate substantial wealth. The Microsoft Corporation
manufactures information by placing data in the form of computer
programs on inexpensive disks or in digital files that are then sold at a
profit to a world computer market. The geographic region of California
south of San Francisco was labeled Silicon Valley after this type of
information-generating activity.
For
a country to gain national wealth, income must be brought in from
outside the country or be generated from within. Other than the
big-three methods of agriculture, extraction/mining, and manufacturing,
there are additional ways a country can gain wealth, such as through
tourism and services. Postindustrial economic activities (the service
sector) contribute to a large percentage of employment opportunities in
industrialized countries and generate a large percentage of their
national economies. However, the service sector does not have the high
value-added profits traditionally provided by the manufacturing sector.
In the gaming industry, for example, casinos do not have a large
wealth-generating potential for the country unless they can either
attract gamblers from other countries or provide for other
wealth-generating services. Gambling shifts wealth from one person to
another and provides little national income. The activity of gambling
does, however, generate service jobs for the gaming industry.
National Debt
Countries
with few opportunities to gain wealth to support their governments
often borrow money to provide services for their people. National debt
is a major problem for national governments. National income can be
consolidated into the hands of a minority of the population at the top
of the socioeconomic strata. These social elites have the ability to
dominate the politics of their countries or regions. The elites may hold
most of a country’s wealth, while at the same time their government
might not always have enough revenues to pay for public services. To pay
for public services, the government might need to borrow money, which
then increases that country’s national debt. The government could have a
high national debt even when the country is home to a large number of
wealthy citizens or a growing economy. Taxes are a standard method for
governments to collect revenue. If economic conditions decline, the
amount of taxes collected can also decline, which could leave the
government in a shortfall. Again, the government might borrow money to
continue operating and to provide the same level of services. Political
corruption and the mismanagement of funds can also cause a country’s
government to lack revenues to pay for the services it needs to provide
its citizens.
National debtThe amount of money owed by a country’s government.,
defined as the total amount of money a government owes, is a growing
concern across the globe. Many governments have problems paying their
national debt or even the interest on their national debt. Governments
whose debt has surpassed their ability to pay have often inflated their
currency to increase the amount of money in circulation, a practice that
can lead to hyperinflation and eventually the collapse of the
government’s currency, which could have serious negative effects on the
country’s economy. In contrast to the national debt, the term budget deficit
refers to the annual cycle of accounting of a government’s excess
spending over the amount of revenues it takes in during a given fiscal
year.
Development and Demographics
The
Industrial Revolution, which prompted the shift in population from
rural to urban, also encouraged market economies, which have evolved
into modern consumer societies. Various theories and models have been
developed over the years to help explain these changes. For example, in
1929, the American demographer Warren Thompson developed the demographic
transition model (DTM) to explain population growth based on an
interpretation of demographic history. A revised version of Thomson’s
model outlines five stages of demographic transition, from traditional
rural societies to modern urban societies:
- Stage 1: High birth and death rates; rural preindustrial society
- Stage 2: Declining death rate; developing country
- Stage 3: Declining birth rate; high urbanization rate
- Stage 4: Low birth and death rates; stabilized population
- Stage 5: Declining population; urban postindustrial society
In
the 1960s, economist Walt Rostow outlined a pattern of economic
development that has become one model for growth in a global economy.
Rostow’s model outlined the five stages of growth in the economic
modernization of a country:
- Stage 1: Traditional society
- Stage 2: Preconditions for take-off
- Stage 3: Take-off
- Stage 4: Drive to maturity
- Stage 5: Age of high mass consumption
The
human development index (HDI) was developed in 1990 and used by the
United Nations Development Program to measure a standard of human
development, which refers to the widening opportunities available to
individuals for education, health care, income, and employment. The HDI
incorporates variables such as standards of living, literacy rate, and
life expectancy to indicate a measure of well-being or the quality of
life for a specific country. The HDI is used as an indicator of a
country’s economic and technological development.
The
basic principles of Rostow’s DTM and the HDI can be illustrated in a
general index for understanding development. Two variables of the DTM’s
correlating five stages are family size and economic income, which can
illustrate the population pattern or development potential. All
countries of the world are at one of the five stages. The general index
addresses how population growth rates relate to rural-to-urban shift,
which has traditionally been a result of industrialization. By tracking
both family size and economic conditions, a pattern of population growth
and economic development can be illustrated and more clearly
understood.
Fertility rate
is often defined as the number of children born to a woman in her
lifetime, regardless of whether they all live to adulthood. Fertility
rate may (or may not) vary from family size,
which is an indication of the number of living children raised by a
parent or parents in the same household. A high infant mortality rate
may account for a fertility rate that is greater than family size. To
simplify the understanding, family size is used in this textbook to
illustrate economic dynamics. Though the statistical data may vary
slightly between the two terms, this should not present any problem in
understanding basic patterns of development.
As
a general trend, when a country experiences increasing levels of
industrial activity and greater urban growth, the outcome is usually a
higher standard of living for its people. Additionally, rural-to-urban
shift takes place, driven by the pull of opportunities and advantages in
the industrializing and urbanizing areas. Though there are exceptions, a
decrease in family size usually coincides with a higher level of
urbanization. There are cases in which only core regions within a
country transition through the five development stages without the
peripheral regions experiencing the coinciding levels of economic
benefit. The five stages of the index of economic developmentFive-stage
model that illustrates the transition of a country from a rural society
with large families to an urban society with small families and a
consumer lifestyle. assist in illustrating these general patterns.
Stage
1 indicates traditional rural societies, which are usually based on
agriculture and not as dependent on the outside world. Stage 1 families
are larger, their income levels are low, and their advantages and
economic development opportunities are low. Health care, education, and
social services are in short supply or nonexistent. High birth and death
rates maintain a high fertility rate/family size and a low
population-growth status. Populations in stage 1 development have a
stationary population pyramid. Though there may be regions of the world
that exhibit stage 1 development patterns, few if any entire countries
fall into this category as of the year 2000.
Stage
2 countries experience high population growth rates because family size
remains high but modern medicine or improved nutrition allows people to
live longer, which lowers the death rate. Population is exploding in
countries in stage 2. During this stage, young people from rural areas
often migrate to the cities looking for employment. Rural stage 2
regions are starting to urbanize and integrate their economic activities
with the outside world. Regions in stage 2 often have a surplus of
cheap labor. Income levels remain low and family size continues to be
large. Countries in this stage often have a rapidly expanding population
pyramid.
Societies
that have made business connections that provide for manufacturing of
products, industrial activities, or an increased service sector might
progress to stage 3, the rural-to-urban shift stage. These regions are
experiencing a high rate of rural-to-urban shift in their populations.
These regions are often targeted by multinational corporations for their
labor supply, and as people migrate from rural areas to the cities
looking for employment, urban populations grow and core or central
cities experience high rates of self-constructed housing (slums). Income
levels start to increase and family size starts to drop significantly.
Stage 3 countries have an expanding population pyramid.
Societies
that have urbanized and industrialized and are members of the global
marketplace might enter stage 4. Members of an urban workforce assist in
building a networked economy. Family size is lower as urban women enter
the workforce and have fewer children. Health care, education, and
social services become increasingly available, and income levels
continue to rise. In stage 4, there is typically a high level of growth
in the industrial and service sectors with a great need for
infrastructure in the form of transportation, housing, and human
services. Countries in stage 4 development have populations that
resemble a stationary population pyramid.
As incomes increase and family size decreases, a consumer societyAn
economy fueled by a high level of consumption and spending where the
population is dominated by higher incomes and smaller family sizes.
emerges, creating stage 5, where high mass consumption can drive the
economy. Many countries in stage 5 can eventually experience a negative
population growth rate in which the fertility rate (family size) is
below replacement levels (statistically around 2.1 children). With a low
number of young people entering the workforce, stage 5 regions become
an attractive magnet for people looking for opportunities and advantages
in the job market. Illegal immigration might become an issue. Europe
and the United States are now experiencing this condition. Japan has the
same low family size, but because of their island location and strict
laws, they have a different set of illegal immigration issues compared
with Europe or the United States. Populations in stage 5 development
have a contracting population pyramid.
The
four basic shapes of population pyramids can parallel the various
stages of a country’s economic development. Many of the concepts used in
this textbook are interrelated. The various methods, models, or
theories used in geography are often used by other disciplines as well.
Understanding one concept usually assists the reader in learning about
the other concepts and how they apply to different geographic locations.
In this case, the stages of economic development and the population
pyramids illustrate the contrast between rural and urban societies and
the changes in family size during the industrialization process.
Geography of Opportunity
Highly
industrialized countries in Western Europe, eastern Asia, or North
America can offer more economic opportunities compared with developing
countries. The push-pull factors that push people out of poorer
countries and pull them to an industrialized country are strong.
Portions of the population of countries in the earlier stages of the
index of economic development often migrate to countries in the latter
stages of the index looking for work and other opportunities. This
transition has created a dichotomy between people who have opportunities
and advantages and those who do not. People who do not have
opportunities and advantages often want to move to places that do have
them so they can work to attain greater economic security for themselves
and their families. The haves and have-notsThose who have opportunities and advantages and those who do not. are general categories of economic status and not necessarily cultural values.
Countries
in stage 4 or 5 of the index of economic development are often
attractive places for those seeking greater economic opportunities or
advantages. Populations in these stages generally have fewer children,
so the demand for entry-level workers is often higher. Immigrants with
fewer skills take the entry-level jobs to enter the economic workforce.
An established country with a long-standing history and culture does not
always welcome an influx of new immigrants. The arrival of an immigrant
labor pool often includes individuals who hold different cultural
traditions or customs than those of the mainstream society. Social
tensions arise if different ethnic groups are vying for the same
cultural spaces and opportunities. One example is the large number of
people entering the United States across its southern border. Europe is
experiencing a similar immigration issue, with immigrants from North
Africa, the Middle East, and former colonies. Japan, on the other hand,
has taken pride in holding on to its ubiquitous Japanese culture but is
facing the same employment situation.
Opportunities in Geography
The
following information on careers in geography is from the website of
the Association of American Geographers (AAG), which is a resource for
those interested in pursuing employment in the field of geography (http://www.aag.org).
Many
occupations require knowledge of and skills in geography. Geographers
work in many different areas, such as environmental management,
education, disaster response, city and county planning, community
development, and more. Geography is an interdisciplinary field that
offers diverse career opportunities.
Many
geographers pursue rewarding careers in business; local, state, or
federal government agencies; nonprofit organizations; and schools.
Geographers with graduate (master’s and doctorate) degrees may become
educators in higher education (community colleges and universities).
Using
information from the US Department of Labor, the AAG has compiled data
on a broad list of occupations related to geography. Using this online
career database, you can explore the diverse career opportunities
available to geographers, as well as retrieve data on salaries,
projected growth, demand for key skills, and much more to guide your
career planning. Occupations can be found at the following site: http://www.aag.org/cs/salary_data_and_trends/salary_data_and_trends_overview.
Key Takeaways
- The search for cheap labor and resources drives the need for profits
by multinational corporations that fuel the global economy. This
activity is creating a second major wave of globalization, often
referred to as neocolonialism or corporate colonialism.
- The concepts of opportunity and advantage provide a
means to understand the attractiveness or unattractiveness of a place to
immigrants or economic activities. Opportunities and advantages drive
rural-to-urban shift, migration, and movement of corporate activity.
- Core areas are usually urban with high levels of
industrial and economic development. Peripheral areas are typically
suppliers of food and raw materials used in the core. Political and
economic power is held in the core, while the periphery suffers from
lower incomes and brain drain.
- National income methods are based on standard
economic practices and value-added principles. Agricultural activities
are renewable, but extractive activities are not. Manufacturing has
historically provided the highest value-added profits and has been the
main means of the core economic regions of the world to gain income. The
service sector provides a high number of jobs but might not contribute
to national income at the same levels as agriculture, extraction
activities, or manufacturing.
- Development and population models can help one
understand a country’s socioeconomic dynamics. Family size and economic
income are two indicators that can be tracked to assist in understanding
the industrialization or urbanization levels of a country or
demographic region.
- Globalization has prompted a greater understanding
of how opportunities and advantages relate to haves and have-nots.
Whether it is individuals or countries, some have greater levels of
opportunity and advantage than others. Human migration patterns usually
coincide with the push-pull forces of opportunity or advantage levels.
- Many of the concepts used to understand the dynamics
of a region or place are related. The four main types of population
pyramids can help illustrate the various stages of a country’s
socioeconomic situation as illustrated in the index of economic
development.
Discussion and Study Questions
- What prompted the first major wave of rural-to-urban migration in modern history?
- What human economic activities would you find in a
core region? What human economic activities would you encounter in the
periphery?
- What is meant by the terms opportunity and advantage? How can they help us understand world geography?
- What are the three main traditional methods through
which a country can gain national income? Of the three, which has
traditionally provided the highest value-added profits?
- What are the three main economic core areas of the world that have dominated the global economy?
- What are the main elements of business that global
corporations seek in terms of a geographic location to make the highest
profits?
- What is the main human migration pattern between the core and the periphery?
- What does each stage of the index of economic development represent or illustrate?
- Would minimum wage tend to go up or down for countries moving from stage 4 to stage 5 of the index of economic development?
- How is it that countries with strong or stable economies run up a high national debt?
Activities
- Compare the main opportunities and advantages for the place you live
with another place either in the same country or in another country
with a similar population pyramid profile.
- Determine the main economic activities for your city
or country and check if they coincide with any of the methods listed in
the explanation in on how a country gains national income.
- Outline the main migration pattern for people moving into or out of your current location.