Economic Activities Study Notes — Class 12 Geography

Lesson summary

An economic activity is the making, providing, purchasing and selling of goods or services. Activities are broadly primary, secondary and tertiary; the tertiary sector is further divided into quaternary and quinary. Economies may be subsistence (for producers and their kinship groups), commercial (for sale, driven by market competition) or planned (controlled by government agencies).

Primary activities

Hunting and gathering: the oldest known economic activity; until 12,000 years ago all humans lived this way, now only 0.0001%. Foragers: Inuit (Arctic), Pygmies (Kalahari), Pintupi and Aborigines (Australia), Paliyan (South India).
Pastoralism: nomadic herding (primitive subsistence; central and western Asia, northern and western Africa, Tundra) and commercial livestock rearing.
Transhumance: seasonal movement with livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures; Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas of the Himalaya.

Agriculture

Type	Key features
Subsistence	Output consumed by farm families; small surplus; traditional methods
Shifting	Tribes of hilly and forest regions, especially tropical Africa; land cleared, cropped a few years, abandoned
Intensive	Small holdings; short duration crops; two or three crops a year
Extensive	Very large holdings; semi-arid mid-latitudes; wheat; highly mechanised
Mixed	Crops, fishing and livestock together
Plantation	Tropical; tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples
Mediterranean	Citrus fruits; viticulture is its speciality; raisins and currants, olives and figs; winter vegetables for Europe and North America
Horticulture	Flowers, vegetables, fruits; truck farming; NW Europe, NE USA, Mediterranean

Shifting cultivation names: Ladang (Malaysia), Chengin/Kaingin (Philippines), Milpa (Central America and Mexico), Konuko (Venezuela), Roca (Brazil), Masole (Congo), Ray (Vietnam), Humah (Indonesia), Taungya (Myanmar), Chen (Sri Lanka) and Jhuming or Bewar (north eastern states of India).

Von Thunen model

Book: The Isolated State. Assumptions: central self-sufficient city, unoccupied wilderness around, flat land with no rivers or mountains, consistent soil and climate, ox cart transport with no roads, farmers maximise profits.
Rings from the city: 1 dairying and intensive farming; 2 timber and firewood; 3 grains and field crops; 4 ranching.
Lesson: a balance between land cost and transport cost.

Mining

Open-pit: ore near the surface, no tunnelling, high production.
Surface: soil stripped off; leaves infertile land and waste rock.
Underground or shaft: network of shafts and tunnels; ventilation and oxygen checks.
In-situ or solution: solution pumped into the ore body; used most for uranium.

Secondary activities

The secondary sector transforms raw materials into consumer goods. It adds value, so it is also called the value addition sector, and supports both primary and tertiary sectors.

Factors affecting location of industries

Raw materials: oil refineries at Visakhapatnam use oil imported through Vizag port.
Power: steam once tied industry to coal mines; aluminium units lie near hydroelectric projects.
Transport costs: heavy, bulky raw materials need sites with low transport cost.
Nearness to the market: a chief factor in the modern period.
Labour: cotton textiles grew near Bombay because of cheap labour.
Government policy: finance, land, water and tax concessions in backward regions.
Capital: the most essential factor.

Weber's theory

Least cost principle; triangle with raw material sites R1 and R2 at the base and market M at the apex; P is the industrial location.
Assumptions: some resources only in certain regions while water is ubiquitous; markets in specific places; transport cost set by weight and distance; competition in markets; consumer discretion.
Weight-losing industry: near raw materials. Weight-gaining industry: at the market. A point inside the triangle with least total cost is the optimal location.

Classification of industries

Basis	Types and examples
Labour	Large scale (cotton, jute textiles); small scale (nut and bolt, coir, plastic bags, matchbox); cottage (weaving, pottery)
Raw material	Heavy (iron and steel); light (electric fans, sewing machines)
Ownership	Private (Bajaj Auto, TISCO); public (BHEL, Bhilai, Durgapur); joint (Gujarat Alkalies, Oil India); co-operative (sugar mills run by farmers)
Source of raw material	Agro based (cotton, jute, sugar, vegetable oil); mineral based (iron and steel, aluminium, cement); pastoral based (hides, bones, horns, dairy); forest based (paper, lac, resin, baskets)
Nature of products	Basic (products used as raw materials, such as iron and steel); consumer (television, soap, biscuits)

Tertiary, quaternary and quinary

Tertiary: services such as trade and commerce, transport, communication, health, education and law; relies on skills and experience.
Quaternary: intellectual activities such as libraries, research, education and information technology.
Quinary: gold collar professions; senior officials, research scientists and top decision makers.

Division of the world

Developed countries (MEDC): post-industrial economies; high GDP, per capita income and standard of living.
Countries in transition: from a centrally planned to a market economy; former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc.
Least developed countries: criteria of poverty, human resource weakness and economic vulnerability.
Biggest economies in 2015: USA (18 trillion dollars, 24.3%), China (11), Japan (4.4), Germany (3.3), UK (2.9), France (2.4), India (2.1).

Economic Activities - Study Notes