FROM
DEINDUSTRIALIZATION TO
GLOBALIZATION
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the growing demand for resources, the expansion of manufacturing and
trade, and the technological innovation have worked to produce an increasingly
interconnected global economy. Almost all places are in some way part of the web
of production, exchange, and consumption that make up that economy—and their
position in that web has significant social consequences Those in the developed
core tend to be in the drivers seat, whereas those in the periphery have far
less control. Tracing the historical geography of industrialization can tell us
much about why some areas are in a more advantageous position that others, but
that is not the entire story.
Changing Patterns
The declining cost of transportation and
communication along with changes in the production process, have led to an
enormous expansion of the service sector (activities such as transportation
banking retailing, administration and decision making are some examples).
Activities do not generate an actual tangible product. This transition has
primarily occurred in the industrialized core. The service sector is sometimes
broken down into three categories: tertiary, quaternary, and quinary industries.
Over the past 30 years this growth in service-related activities has been
accompanied by significant deindustrialization in the core industrial economies
This shift had its roots in dramatic decreases in the cost of transporting
goods, the increasing mechaniz4tion of production the growth of the public
sector, and the rise of new information and communication technologies.
The changes of the past
three decades have not fundamentally altered global patterns of economic
well-being, but they have produced significant new spatial orders. They have
caused shifts in the locus of production, altered patterns of regional
specialization and fostered new centers of economic growth. Deindustrialization
in the core has also led to the growth of labor-intensive manufacturing in the
periphery where labor costs are dramatically lower and profits thus higher. Such
manufacturing ranges from shoes and
apparel to computers, automobiles, and television sets. The next time you
purchase such items, check and see where they were manufactured or assembled.
Global Dimensions of Economic Activity
To
understand the economic shifts that have occurred over the past few decades we
must look beyond individual places to the global scale, for both the core and
periphery have been significantly changed. The phrase new international division of labor refers to the set of
relationships that define the contemporary world economy. Whereas earlier in the
twentieth century economic relationships were defined by an industrialized
core and a resource-exporting periphery, today the geography of the global
economy is far more complex. The countries and regions outside the core that
have increased their manufacturing output most rapidly in recent decades are
shown in text Figure 27-1. Lying
behind the patterns shown is a set of developments that give meaning to the
phrase ‘new international division of labor.” In the traditional core, the
shift away from heavy industry and toward the service sector has been
accompanied by the rise of labor-intensive manufacturing in new locations More
labor-intensive manufacturing particularly assembly activities, is likely to
be located in peripheral countries where labor is not only cheap, but regulations
(including environmental controls) are few, and tax rates low. Elaborate trading
networks and financial relations support the economic web at the heart of the
new international division of labor. This new pattern has linked the worlds
economies more closely together, but it carries with it patterns of interaction
that favors some areas over others.
Specialized
Patterns
Developments
discussed so far—the growing connections between the developed core and the
newly industrialized countries, the decline of the older industrial areas, and
the emergence of assembly-style manufacturing in the periphery—are not the
only significant changes that have shaped the new global economic picture. One
change that is altering the economic landscape of the contemporary world is the
development of a set of links between world
cities—major urban centers of multinational business and finance; the
control centers of the world economy. These cities are not necessarily the
largest in terms of population, nor are they the greatest centers of
manufacturing. Instead, they are the places where the world’s most important
financial and corporate institutions are located and where decisions are made
that divide the world economy. The basic pattern is shown in text Figure 24-3,
which shows that most of the major world cities are located in the developed
core. Thus a global economic geography dominated by nation-states is giving way
to one in which world cities and multinational corporations play an increasingly
significant role.
Time-Space
Compression
A
key theme of the last few decades is captured by the phrase time-space
compression—a set of developments that have dramatically changed the way
we think about time and space in the global economic arena. The rise of the
World Wide Web plays into the time-space compression. It is too early to know
what the full impact of the Web might be, but its role in reducing the importance of distance is self evident. It also clearly
plays a role in the decentralization of economic activity.
CHAPTER
QUIZ
MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS
1. The
mass-production assembly line was pioneered by:
a. J.P.
Morgan
b. Henry Ford
c. Andrew Carnegie
d. Henry
Kaiser
2.
Service industries are commonly referred to as:
a.
secondary industries
b. tangible
industries
c. primary
industries
d. tertiary
industries
3.
One of the fastest-growing segments of the tourist industry is:
a.
golfing
b. fishing
c. cruising
d. birding
4.
In the late l990s, five regions
accounted for well over 75 percent of the worlds total output of manufactured
goods. Which of the following is one of these?
a.
western
b.
southeastern
c.
d.
South
5.
A number of
so-called newly industrialized countries now have emerged as contributors to the
global manufacturing base. Two are in the
a.
b.
c.
d.
6.
Commercial production of television sets began after:
a.
the Korean War
b.
World War I
c.
World War II
d.
the Vietnam War
7.
The American ideal of the university town originated in:
a.
b.
c.
d.
8.
Maquiladora plants are an example of special economic zone development;
these particular ones are located along the border between:
a.
the
b.
c.
d.
9.
For many decades the
a.
iron and steel
b.
textiles
c.
footwear
d.
computers
10.
Which continent has none of the World Cities that are
becoming dominant in the global economy.
a.
South
America
b.
c.
d.
Australia
TRUE/FALSE
QUESTIONS
1.
The mass-production assembly line, pioneered by Henry Ford, did not
affect any other industries except the making of cars. (TF)
2.
Service industries belong in the tertiary industry category. (TF)
3.
One factor causing older industrial districts to decline is newer
factories building elsewhere. (TF)
4. The rise of new core industrial regions has not shifted the relative importance of older regions. (TF)
5.
Research and development activities tend to be concentrated in the
periphery. (TF)
6.
7.
Many service industries do not need raw materials nor use large amounts
of energy. (TF)
8.
World cities are the largest in terms of population, and are the places
where decisions are made that drive the world economy. (TF)
9.
10. The
World Wide Web is playing a role in the decentralization of economic activity. (TF)
STUDY QUESTIONS
1.
Discuss the global shift in
industrial production including the tertiary sector—where and why. How and why
has location changed in these industries? Discuss foreign investment and its
role in location.
2.
What event of
the 1970s changed the role of core industrial regions? Discuss the service
sector and its three categories, also discuss the largest service industry and its
impact on countries.
3.
How do world cities fit into the picture of today’s global economy?
Where are they located (Figure 27-3)?
4.
List and define the different kinds of specialized economic zones. Where
are they located? Why have they been created?
5. What is meant by time-space compression? How has it affected the world? What is the World Wide Web and how has it already affected the world?