AP Human Geography Unit 7 Vocabulary

Grouping together of many firms from the same industry in a single area for collective or cooperative use of infrastructure and sharing of labor resources

AKA – External Economies Positive effects of agglomeration for clustered industries and for the consumers of their products, often in the form of lower costs to industries and the consumers

Massive charges of electricity are required to extract aluminum from its processed raw material, aluminum oxide. Electrical power amounts for between 30% and 40% of the cost of producing the aluminum and is the major variable cost influencing plant location in the industry. The Kitimat plant on the west coast of Canada or the Bratsk plant near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia are examples of industry placed far from raw material sources or market but close to vast supplies of cheap power— in these instances, hydroelectricity

System of standardized mass production attributed to Henry Ford

Geographical economic theory that refers to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the Central Business District (CBD) increases.

A location where large shipments of goods are broken up into smaller containers for delivery to local markets

The ratio of output to input for a given carrier

the ability of an individual, firm, or country to produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than other producers

A model of the spatial structure of development in which underdeveloped countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region

The dispersal of an industry that formerly existed in an established agglomeration

Lose of industrial activity in an region

The primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, and quinary sectors

Lower production costs as a result of larger volume of production

A trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties.

Areas where governments create favorable investment and trading conditions to attract export-oriented industries

Costs that do not vary with the quantity of output produced

Manufacturing activities in which cost of transporting both raw materials and finished product is not important for determining the location of the firm

Four Asian Tigers refers to the economies of Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, aka, Asia’s Four Little Dragons.

Economic development, or growth, is not uniform over an entire region, but instead takes place around a specific pole

By Alfred Weber, an industry is located where the transportation costs of raw materials and final product is a minimum

1. North America
2. Europe
3. East Asia

The rapid economic and social changes in manufacturing that resulted after the introduction of the factory system to the textile industry in England at the end of the 18th century

Fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools

Selective transfer of skilled jobs in MDCs to LDCs that still allows skilled jobs to exist in MDCs

Type of industry in which labor cost is a high percentage of expense

A concept developed by Alfred Weber to describe the optimal location of a manufacturing establishment in relation to the costs of transport and labor, and the relative advantages of agglomeration or deglomeration

A region which manufacturing activities have clustered together
US: North (Chicago, NYC, etc)

A feature of economic development in peripheral countries whereby the host country establishes areas with favorable tax, regulatory, and trade arrangements in order to attract foreign manufacturing operations

Those US firms that have factories just outside the US/Mexican border in areas that have been specially designated by the Mexican government

The tendency of an economic activity to locate close to its market; a reflection of large and variable distribution costs

North American Free Trade Agreement; allows open trade with US, Mexico, and Canada

Sending industrial processes out for external production

Method of inventory management made possible by efficient transportation and communication systems, whereby companies keep on hand just what they need for near-term production, planning that what they need for longer-term production will arrive when needed

A stage of economic development in which service activities become relatively more important than goods production; professional and technical employment supersedes employment in agriculture and manufacturing; and level of living is defined by the quality of services and amenities rather than by the quantity of goods available

Tendency for an industry or other type of economic activity to locate close to its resources

(SEZ) – Specific area within a country in which tax incentives and less stringent environmental regulations are implemented to attract foreign business and investment

Specific area within a country in which tax incentives and less stringent environmental regulations are implemented to attract foreign business and investment.

The minimum number of people needed to support the service/The maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a service

An influence on the rate of expansion diffusion of an idea, observing that the spread or acceptance of an idea is usually delayed as distance from the source of the innovation increases

Exists when two regions, through an exchange of raw materials and/or finished products, can specifically satisfy each other’s demands

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located

Present, appearing, or found everywhere

Costs that change directly with the amount of production

Creator of the model that states that the optimum location of a manufacturing firm is explained in terms of cost minimization

An industry in which the final product weighs more or comprises a greater volume than the inputs

An industry in which the final product weighs less or comprises a lower volume than the input