Chapter 1: Economic Geography and Globalization Introductions. Geographic Perspectives

Transcription

1 Chapter 1: Ecnmic Gegraphy and Glbalizatin Intrductins Gegraphic Perspectives - Gegraphy The study f space, f hw the earth s surface is used, f hw scieties prduce places, and hw human activities are stretched amng different lcatins - Ecnmic Gegraphy A sub-discipline cncerned with the spatial rganizatin and distributin f ecnmic activity The gegraphic rigins, structure, and dynamics f the wrld ecnmy Five Analytical Themes 1. The study f space is inseparable frm the study f time a. Accumulatin f decisins f actrs in the past that created the present 2. Every place is part f a system f places a. All regins are intercnnected and never exist in islatin frm ne anther 3. Human actin ccurs in a biphysical envirnment a. Includes climate, tpgraphy, sils, vegetatin, and mineral and water resurces 4. Culture the shape f cnsciusness is fundamental t ecnmic gegraphy a. Human beings are sentient beings manifested in perceptins, cgnitin, symblic frm and language 5. Scial relatins are a necessary starting pint t understanding scieties and gegraphies a. Studied thrugh the lens f plitical ecnmy, fcus n the rle f pwer distributin in sciety Capitalism - Ecnmic, scial, plitical, an gegraphic system characterized by private wnership f ecnmic means f prductin - Fundamental institutin is the market Interactins f buyers and sellers Supply and demand n the basis f price - Guiding imperative is PROFIT - Tw majr grups f decisin makers Private husehlds Businesses - Mechanisms perating in Capitalism Resurce market and prduct market (see. Figure 1.1) Circular flws in the capitalist ecnmy. Invlves a resurce market where husehlds supply resurces t businesses and where businesses prvide mney incme t husehlds

2 Resurce markets rganize capital, land, and labur prduce gds and services Prduct markets cnsist f buyers and sellers f the utputs Markets tied tgether thrugh flws f capital, labr and wages, cnsumptin f gds and services, and sales revenues and prfits - GDP (grss dmestic prduct) Value f all the gds and services prduced in a given cuntry in ne year Dividing by ppulatin = GDP per capita - GDP per capita is ften used as a measurement f quality f life Ecnmic Gegraphy f the Wrld Ecnmy - Wrld ecnmy Netwrks, prcesses, and institutins that shape the planetary system f resurce distributin, create wealth and pverty, and cntinue t the rise and fall f different natinal pwers It s cnstantly transfrmed by a cmbinatin f technlgical and geplitical frces Changes in the wrld are simultaneusly Culture Technlgical Plitical Envirnmental - Internatinal ecnmic system includes, institutins and relatins f glbal capitalism - Capitalist wrld ecnmy is a multistate ecnmic system which began in Western Eurpe, and as it expanded, it develped a cre f dminant develped cuntries and a periphery f ther cuntries Understanding Glbalizatin - Glbalizatin Wrldwide prcesses that make the wrld ecnmy and the varius scieties that cmprise it mre integrated and mre interdependent Shuld nt be seen as inherently beneficial r inherently negative but rather a mixture f bth sets f qualities Glbalizatin f Culture and Cnsumptin - Culture Bdy f beliefs, custms, traditins, scial frms, material traits cnstituting a distinct scial traditin f a grup f peple Leading t increased cultural hmgeneity Imprved cmmunicatins and transprtatin prmte glbal cnsumer culture All peple d nt have equal access t glbalizatin Distinctive lcal cultural traits threatened by glbal diffusin f cnsumer culture (synnymus with Americanizatin)

3 Push back f lcal cultural values - Glbalizatin f telecmmunicatins Grwth f glbal digital telecmmunicatins Televisin, cell phnes, internet Nt ubiquitus Gaps in access t technlgy - Glbalizatin f transprtatin - Increased speed and intercnnectivity - Nt ubiquitus in cnnectin Time-space Cnvergence r Cmpressin - Distance decay Attenuatin r reductin in the flw r mvement amng places with increasing distance between them Underlying principle f distance decay is the frictin f distance-csts f verpricing space - Transprtatin imprvements result in time-space cnvergence r cmpressin - Reductin in csts leads t cst-space cnvergence Alters the gegraphies f centrality and peripherality Cheaper, mre efficient mdes f transprt widened the range f distance ver which gds culd be shipped Develpments in transprtatin have als cut travel times extensively Air transprtatin prvides spectacular examples f time space cnvergence Transnatinal Crpratins - Businesses that have direct investments in multiple cuntries - Businesses that have the pwer t crdinate and cntrl peratins in mre than ne cuntry, even if it des nt wn them The ability t crdinate and cntrl prcesses in transnatinal prductin netwrks The ability t capitalize n gegraphic differences in factrs f prductin The ability t switch resurces and peratin between lcatins Freign Direct Investment - Purchase f physical assets r significant wnership f a cmpany in anther cmpany t gain managerial cntrl Transprtatin Netwrks in Histrical Perspective - Figure 9.2

4 Western Eurpe s rail netwrks link its numerus cities in an efficient and prductive transprtatin system - Figure 9.3 Amtrak s netwrk in the United States is used t transprt the mvement f gds and peple, via train - Figure 9.5 The Panama and Suez Canal s greatly shrtened wrld shipping rutes, reflecting and cntributing t the time-space cmpressin f the Industrial Revlutin and the new gegraphies it brught int being - Figure 9.9 Majr wrld rads and highways. All ares within the US, Eurpe, India, Sutheastern Australia, and New Zealand are virtually within 25 miles f rads and highways - Figure 9.12 Mst f the wrlds cntainer prts are lcated in East and Sutheast Asia and in Eurpe. New Yrk City, Ls Angeles, and Vancuver represent majr cntainer prts in Nrth America Singapre, Hng Kng, and Rtterdam have the largest cntainer prts in the wrld Transprtatin, Deregulatin and Privatizatin - Privatizatin Free entry f new transprtatin peratrs began in the 1970 s - Deregulatin Lsening r eliminatin f regulatins - Bth deregulatin and privatizatin have kept fares dwn - Hub-and-spke Netwrks Airlines restricted their netwrks s that hey culd reduce direct flights between mst city pairs Hubs serve as a central lcatin that cllect and redistribute passengers between sets f riginal cities - Trade Liberalizatin The remval/reductin f restrictins n the exchange f gds and services between natins General Agreement n Tariffs and Trade Wrld Trade Organizatin Reginal Trade Agreements - Reginal Trading Blck Nrth-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Trading blck amng USA, Canada, and Mexic remving barriers Eurpean Unin

5 Ecnmic and plitical partnership amng 27 Eurpean cuntries Assciatin f Sutheast Asia Natins (ASEAN) Cperative ecnmic rganizatin f 10 Asian natins MERCOSUR Fur natin American Trading blck including 250 millin Cnsumers and 75 percent f cntinental GDP CAFTA-DR Six natin trading blck including the US and Central America Russian Federatin Large ecnmic grwth, supply f natural resurces, and ppulatin Telecmmunicatins - Fiber-ptic and Satellite Systems Satellites and fiber ptic lines are the basis f the glbal telecmmunicatins industry Frm separate market segments Fiber ptics heavily favured by large crpratins fr data transmissin and by financial institutins fr electrnic funds transfer Satellites used mre ften by internatinal televisin carriers Telephne and internet service prviders use bth - Figure 9.2 Beginning in the 1980 s with the laying f cable acrss the Atlantic, many telecmmunicatins giants have expanded the grid, increasing expnentially the ability t transmit enrmus quantities f data - Figure 9.21 Fiber-ptic and satellite transmissin have surpassed cpper wire and the caxial cable. The increase has been expnential regarding vice circuitry - Telecmmunicatins and Gegraphy Cnsiderable ppular cnfusin abut the real and ptential impacts f telecmmunicatins n spatial relatins Telecmmunicatins are ideally suited fr the transmissin f rutine, standardized frms f data Within cities, digital netwrks have cntributed t an nging recnstructin f urban space Telecmmunicatin netwrks tend t be largely invisible t plicy makers and planners - Figure 9.26 The rigins and grwth f the internet - Figure 9.28 Scial and Spatial Discrepancies in Internet Access Gegraphies f the Internet - Scial and Spatial Discrepancies in Internet Access

6 Significant discrepancies in access largely ccur alng the lines f wealth, gender and race Differentials in accessing the skills, equipment, and sftware necessary threaten t create a large, predminantly minrity underclass deprived f cyberspace Public educatinal system cannt ffer an easy remedy t the prblem f the digital divide Internatinally, Internet access dependent upn density, reliability, and affrdability f natinal telephne systems