Collaborative Learning Activity 1.1 - How is your team connected to the global economy?
Before we examine some of the activities of the global economy, take a moment to learn how your team is connected to it.
What activities make up the global economy?
One way to begin to understand the global economy is to
classify the activities that produce goods and services that are
consumed by people worldwide. These activities can be divided into four
sectors.
Primary sector activities are concerned with the direct
extraction of materials from the earth's surface, generally through
agriculture, mining, fishing, and forestry (Figure 1). The secondary
sector includes industries that process, transform, and assemble raw
materials into products like cars, computers, and clothing (Figure 2).
The tertiary sector involves the provision of goods and services to
people in exchange for payment (Figure 3). Examples of service
providers include banks, universities, and retail shops. Finally, there
is a quaternary sector of activities related to the management of data
and information.
Figure 1. Coffee growing is an example of an economic activity in the primary sector.
(Photo credit: Phil Gersmehl. Used by Permission)
Figure 2. is an example of an economic activity in the secondary sector.
(Photo credit: Phil Gersmehl. Used by Permission)
Figure 3. is an example of an economic activity in the tertiary sector.
(Photo credit: Phil Gersmehl. Used by Permission)
Levels of economic development and human welfare can
vary greatly between countries, ranging from advanced economies with
high standards of living to developing countries where the basic needs
of the majority of the population are not being met. Understanding the
reasons for this disparity lies at the heart of economic geography.
Some scholars believe that economic globalization benefits everyone by
expanding markets, promoting efficiency in production, creating jobs,
and lowering the prices of goods. Other scholars disagree with that
premise, and argue that economic globalization is creating a world in
which wealth and power is heavily concentrated in a few privileged
regions and also in the hands of a few individuals. Your team will
explore these issues in greater detail as you proceed through this
module.
To study the geography of economic development, it is
necessary to have information that can be used to compare nations in
terms of quality of life. One way to describe the wealth of a country
is by measuring its Gross National Product (sometimes referred to as
Gross Domestic Product), which is the sum of the value of all the goods
and services that a country produces in one year.
Click here
 to view an interactive presentation that illustrates how GNP
can be used to compare the quality of life in different places. The
presentation uses Indonesia and Singapore as examples of mapping GNP,
and shows how GNP maps are used in economic analyses.
Many scholars believe that economic growth can improve
human health and welfare. They base this argument on the observation
that income tends to be positively correlated with health - in other
words, people living in countries with high GNP per capita tend to live
longer than people who live in countries with low GNP per capita. But
does high income necessarily cause better health?
Click here
for an interactive
presentation that explains how geographers explore relationships between
national income and life expectancy.
There are other ways to compare quality of life in
different places that take into account factors other than GNP. For
example, the United Nations annually publishes a Human Development Index
(HDI) that measures a country's average achievements in three basic
aspects of human development: (1) longevity, (2) knowledge, and (3) a
decent standard of living. Longevity is measured by life expectancy at
birth; knowledge is measured by a combination of the adult literacy rate
and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary school enrollment
ratio; and standard of living by GDP per capita expressed as
purchasing-power parity (PPP), which converts the currency rates for 175
countries into a common currency (such as US dollars) to enable
international comparison of economic statistics. The HDI for a country
can range from 0 - 100, with a score of 80-100 considered "High", 50-80
"Medium", and 0-50 "Low". The HDI can be mapped to compare differences
in human development around the world (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Human Development Index (HDI) ~ Source:
United Nations Development Programme 2003
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TEAM DISCUSSION - Before continuing with the
lesson, go to the Group Discussion Board and find the forum with the
title "Lesson 1 - Measuring Economic and Human Development". The full
team should use this forum to discuss the following questions. Try to
discuss the questions long enough so that each member has a chance to
share a view and respond to at least one other member of the team.
- Do you think mapping GNP per capita or HDI is
enough to assess the quality of life in different countries? Can you
explain why or why not? Support your answers with information from the
two interactive presentations that illustrate different approaches to
measuring economic development and quality of life in different places.
- How do you think globalization is related to quality
of life and economic development in your country? What evidence can you
give to support your view?
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for the procedures to follow.