Location of Economic Sectors (Edexcel IGCSE Geography): Revision Note

Factors influencing the location of economic sectors

• Every type of economic activity has a particular location

  • The location is affected by both physical and human factors

  • These factors relate to the needs of the economic activity

Physical factors

• Raw materials: industries require raw materials to produce goods

• Land: how much land costs and how much is available  

• Energy: where the industries get their power supply from

• Climate: some industries benefit from particular climates

Human factors

• Capital: the money that is available to set up and run the economic activity

• Transport and communication: accessibility by road, air and rail is important to many industries

• Market: how close the industries are to the market (where goods are sold)

• Labour: all industries need workers

• Government policy: tax incentives, cheaper rent

Factors affecting primary activity location

• Primary economic activities include agriculture, mining, forestry and fishing

  • Distance from the market and cost of transport are particularly important for mining due to the bulky products 

  • Climate would be more important for agriculture 

• Climate

  • Precipitation, sunshine hours and temperature all affect the type of crops grown or livestock

• Land

  • The amount of land available, cost, soil type and resources (coal, gold)

• Market

  • Some crops need to be very close to the market, such as soft fruits (strawberries), otherwise they will rot before reaching the customer

• Government policies

  • Whether subsidies are available

• Labour

  • In developed countries, there are few workers needed due to mechanisation

• Transport

  • Access to roads to transport crops, animals, quarried/mined materials, and timber

Factors affecting secondary activity location

• Secondary economic activities involve car manufacturing, food processing, and shipbuilding

• The importance of the location factors depends on:

  • The weight of raw materials and the finished product, as heavier, bulky products, cost more to transport

  • The size of the factory required for car manufacture needs much more space than food processing or clothing production

• Raw materials

  • How close the activity needs to be to raw materials and the types of raw materials will depend on the industry

  • Industries needing heavy or bulky raw materials will be located near the raw materials

• Land

  • Large areas of land are often required for factories, so the cost and amount of the land are important

• Water

  • A nearby water supply may be needed for industrial processes

• Market

  • Access to the market is important to be able to sell the goods made

• Government policies

  • Tax incentives, grants, and loans may be available if the economic activity is located in a particular area

• Energy

  • A power source is needed; this used to be coal or water

    • During the Industrial Revolution, this meant that factories were located near coal fields

  • Energy is now provided by electricity, which can be accessed in many areas

  • In developing/emerging countries where energy infrastructure is poorer, factories are located near energy sources

• Labour

  • Mechanisation means that not as many workers are required

• Transport

  • Access to roads is essential to bring in raw materials and send out the product

  • Factories may also be located near to ports

Factors affecting tertiary activity location

• Tertiary economic activities involve providing a service, such as healthcare or retail

• The most important factor for location is usually:

  • Proximity to the customers 

• Land

  • The amount of land depends on the type of economic activity; large retail parks need lots of land 

• Market

  • Needs to be close to the customers or service users

• Energy

  • A power source is needed—electricity, which can be accessed in many areas

• Labour

  • Workers are needed, both skilled and unskilled

• Transport

  • It needs to be accessible for customers, workers and in the case of retail, to bring in the products

Factors affecting quaternary activity location

• Quaternary economic activities involve high technology, such as research and development. The most important factors in their location:

  • Proximity to skilled workers and universities 

  • Pleasant working environment

• Land

  • Science parks need large areas of land, usually near a university on the rural-urban fringe

• Energy

  • A power source is needed—electricity, which can be accessed in many areas

• Labour

  • Skilled labour is often needed, usually university graduates

• Transport

  • Needs to be accessible to the workers

Changing location of economic activities

• The location of economic activities does not stay the same but changes over time

Primary activities

• The location of primary activities may change due to several factors:

  • Natural hazards

    • Drought, soil erosion, flooding and other events may lead to decreased growth of crops/raising of livestock

  • Raw materials

    • These may run out in an area or become economically unviable 

  • Climate change

    • This may affect the types of crops which can be grown 

  • Investment

    • New technology, such as irrigation techniques, can increase the areas farmed

• As a result, the location of the primary activity may need to move

  • There are no working coal mines in the UK because it is economically unviable and imported coal is cheaper

    • Coal used in the UK is now imported from countries including Colombia and South Africa

  • In Madagascar, cyclones and droughts have led to a move away from rice production to more drought-resistant crops such as sorghum

Secondary activities

• The location of manufacturing activities or secondary economic activities across the world has changed significantly

• There has been a global shift to emerging and developing countries

  • Transport is faster and cheaper, which means products can be moved around the world more easily

    • This has led to an increase in transnational corporations (TNCs) with factories and offices in many countries

  • Factories were once tied to a power source of coal supplies or water

    • Electricity is now available almost anywhere so factories can be located in more places

  • The internet means that instant communication with factories and offices around the world is possible

    • Allowing TNCs to operate in more countries

  • Government policies in emerging and developing countries are aimed at attracting manufacturing, often using tax incentives

  • Cheaper labour, less strict health and safety, cheaper land and more workers are all available in developing and emerging countries

    • These reduce costs and increase profits

  • Raw materials may no longer be available in the area 

• These changes have led to a reduction in secondary economic activities in developed countries such as the UK

  • This is known as deindustrialisation

    • Areas which relied on secondary activities experience a decrease in employment and the negative multiplier effect

  • Companies such as Dyson have moved their headquarters and manufacturing to South-East Asia

    • They can increase profits due to lower manufacturing costs

Tertiary activities

• The location of tertiary and quaternary economic activities is increasingly located in rural (greenfield) areas on the rural-urban fringe

• The rural-urban fringe is attractive to these activities because:

  • There is more open space for expansion and car parking

  • Land is cheaper

  • It is more accessible than the CBD

  • The land is located near the suburbs and commuter village, with good access for workers and customers

  • There has been an increase in science parks, business parks and retail parks where similar businesses are located together

• This process is known as decentralisation

• Many cities in developed countries are experiencing decentralisation

  • In Southampton, retail and businesses have moved to the Hedge End Retail Park and the Adanac Business Park

Quaternary activities

• The location of quaternary activities is often on the rural-urban fringe

  • They are usually located on greenfield sites, near universities or other quaternary businesses

  • Examples of this in the UK are the Southampton Science Park and Cambridge Science Parks

• Improvements in infrastructure, particularly communication, make areas attractive to quaternary activities

• Agglomeration leads to quaternary industries locating close to each other

  • Silicon Valley in the USA is an example of this