Globalization Week 2 Notes

GGR111 Class Notes Week 2 Notes Key Points/ Terms Relationships Spatial Relationships ● Physical distance, ○ The spatial interval between points in space ○ It can be linear or nonlinear (ex. If you have to navigate city streets or a complicated coast, getting from one place to another may not be as direct as drawing a straight line on a map between the two places) ● Time distance ○ how long it takes to travel a particular physical distance ○ When making this decision, you will often have to consider your mode of movement (e.g., walking, driving, bus), traffic issues, and any relevant regulations (like speed limits.) ● Economic distance ○ the cost of getting from one place to another. (ex. a taxi or uber fare ) ● Social distance ○ the likelihood of members of two different groups mixing together. ○ Populations can live right next to each other but never (or rarely) interact socially Spatial relationships are both ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ – they can be abstract entities (measurements on a map), but they are also “lived experiences that are highly meaningful to the people who create and change them” according to Warf (2011) GGR111 Class Notes Time–space compression ● Time-space compression is a geographical spatial concept. ● Time-space compression refers to the way that the world is seemingly get smaller, or compressing, as a result of increased transport, communications, and capitalism ● An example of time-space compression is the mobile phone. Another example is with transport. With the rise of jet planes, internet communication, and cheaper travel, it has become much easier (and faster) to be connected with faraway places ● There are di erent theories towards time space compression, but most notably, David Harvey believes the cause of space time compression is caused by the speeding up of capitalism and capitalist processes. Doreen Massey ● One of the main critiques of the theory of time-space compression is by geographer Doreen Massey. ● In the current era of the world rapidly speeding up, we are experiencing the spreading of capital, culture, foods, dress etc. This is our world becoming what Harvey describes as the 'global village'.1 ● However, Massey notes that this original idea of time-space compression is heavily Eurocentric, focussed on a western perspective. Harvey GGR111 Class Notes admits to this early on in his example of time-space compression in his novel. ● Through time-space compression, people in the West may be seeing their local areas become more diverse, causing a certain sense of detachment. ● However, Massey notes this must have been experienced by non-western countries for years, as British and US products made their way around the world, i.e., this is not a new process. International Division of Labour ● A global commodity is a commonly-traded good that is in demand in different locations worldwide ● A commodity can be bought or sold, tangible or intangible ● A global commodity chain is a network of trade where resources are gathered, refined, and distributed, often in exchange for other commodities. a. Ex. An extremely basic commodity chain would have raw materials being sourced in one place, manufactured in another, and sold in yet another. ● GGR111 Class Notes Four sectors that are often used to categorize economic activity. Primary sector: The primary sector includes businesses that produce or collect natural resources. This includes agriculture, mining and quarrying, forestry, and the oil and gas industry. Secondary sector: Businesses in the secondary sector process raw materials into finished products. All processing, construction, and manufacturing jobs fall into this sector, including aerospace manufacturing, automobile production, textile production, shipbuilding, chemical, and engineering industries Tertiary sector: Also known as the service sector, the tertiary sector comprises service providers, including retail sales, transportation, insurance companies, restaurants, tourism, entertainment, legal services, health care, and financial services. Quaternary sector: GGR111 Class Notes The quaternary sector includes businesses related to intellectual activities, such as education, government decision-making, information technology, research and development, and entertainment Some classifications include a fifth sector, called the quinary sector, as either a separate category or a subsector of the quaternary sector. However, economists debate over the exact definition of the quinary service sector. Some say it applies only to high-level decision-makers inside government, education, science, technology, media, and health care. Others say it includes domestic activities, nonpro its and charities, and human care services.” GGR111 Class Notes Global Spatial Division of Labour ● global spatial division of labour is explained is through the idea of comparative advantage ● A country has a comparative advantage when its opportunity cost of producing a particular good or service is lower than that of other countries. The same rule applies to individuals and companies. ○ Think of Country A that has managed to crack the production of computers. Its labor force contains highly skilled computer scientists. This country is capable of producing 1000 computers in a month. On the other hand, as this country has its labor force made of engineers and computer scientists, it can only produce a limited number of bottles of wine, namely 200. ○ On the other hand, there's another country, B. This country has managed to crack the production of wine, and its human and natural resources allow this country to scale up wine production. However, this country has a limited number of people who can develop and build computers. Its labor force mainly consists of relatively less skilled labor who usually participate in the wine production processes. While they can produce 800 bottles of wine in a month, they can only produce 150 computers. ● The theory of comparative advantage was developed by the 19th-century British economist David Ricardo1, who attributed the causes of international trade to differences countries have in their relative opportunity cost in producing the same commodity. ● You calculate comparative advantages using the opportunity cost a country or an individual faces when focusing on one particular good. ● A comparative advantage example from today's world: Think about China and the United States. China's comparative advantage over the United States comes in the form of cheap labor, which the United States cannot match. Chinese employees create basic consumer items at a lower opportunity cost than their counterparts in the United States. The reason for that is that China has a larger portion of unskilled labor when compared to the US. That's why using this labor in the production of basic customer items doesn't have much opportunity cost for China GGR111 Class Notes Critics point to inherent weaknesses in Ricardo's theory such as its failure to factor in transportation costs and the implied assumption that the advantages of increased production outweigh other problems including environmental impacts and social inequalities. Capital Mobility ● Capital mobility: The ease with which capital can be moved across national borders and invested in foreign economies. ○ Perfect Capital Mobility: This scenario occurs when there is no restriction on the flow of capital across borders. It means that investors can move their capital freely, seeking the highest possible returns without worrying about any kind of tariff or regulation. ○ Limited Capital Mobility: In this situation, there are certain restrictions or tariffs that limit the movement of capital across national borders. Investors must consider these regulations before making investment decisions. ■ https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/macroeconomics /economics-of-money/capital-mobility/ Modernization Theory: ● developed by economist W.W. Rostow ● suggests that all countries go through five stages of economic growth to achieve development: traditional society, preconditions to take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and age of high mass consumption. ● believes in a linear path of development and emphasizes a top-down approach (refers to a method of problem-solving or decision-making where the direction, guidance, or control comes from a higher or central authority and is passed down to the lower levels or components of a system.) with a focus on a capitalist system and liberal democracy. GGR111 Class Notes ● Critics argue that this theory is biased towards a Western model, doesn't account for diverse development, it’s anachronistic (belonging to a period other than that being portrayed.), and prioritizes the national scale ● Modernization Theory advocates a linear path to development with a focus on Western models, Metaphors to Easily Understand Modernization Theory Modernization Theory: The Linear Highway Imagine a highway where all countries are on a journey of economic development. According to Modernization Theory, this highway has five lanes representing different stages of growth: traditional society, preconditions to take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and the age of high mass consumption. The theory sees development as a straight and predictable path, with Western models as the signposts. It's like saying every country is on a one-way road to a modern city, guided by a centralized GPS system that follows a capitalist system and liberal democracy. However, critics argue that this highway is biased, only showcasing a Western-style city and ignoring the scenic and diverse routes other countries might take. Zoom Answers: ● Modernization theorists would argue that peripheral countries start at the primary sector and slowly “develop” towards the quaternary sector where most core countries are ● as a country develops following modernization theory it progresses through each economic sector ● as a country develops following modernization theory it progresses through each economic sector ● The more traditional societies would have a increase in primary sector and the modern societies would have more secondary and tertiary sector so basically moving from traditional to modern as we move from primary to secondary to tertiary GGR111 Class Notes ● ● Shipping containers make transportation faster which affects time distances, and they also make transportation cheaper affecting economic distances ● The development of them decreased time and economic distance. Part of the time difference was created was how long it took to unload and load. ○ Time space compression ● Less hours wasted ● Time and economic distance and changed ● Distance stays the same ● Over decades, the commodity chains links and their physical distances shrink over long periods of time Dependency Theory: ● originated in Latin America ● challenges neoclassical economics and argues that power accumulates in certain places that drains wealth and resources from others. ● The theory emphasizes constraints imposed by power relations between centers and peripherals ● It rejects the idea of universal economic laws and advocates for understanding each country's unique historical context. ● Dependency Theory argues that power dynamics and unequal exchange between centers and peripheries shape global economic development. ● Core manages system, semi and peripheries ● According to dependency theory, the system is in place that it doesnt matter how individual octnries are, the system stays. This means peripheral countries cannot raise their relative politcal and economic status in the world GGR111 Class Notes Metaphors to Easily Understand Dependency Theory Dependency Theory: The Unbalanced See-Saw Picture a playground with a giant see-saw representing global economic relations. On one side, you have the Core countries sitting comfortably, managing the system, and on the other side are the Semi and Periphery countries. Dependency Theory suggests that the Core countries are using their weight to benefit themselves, draining wealth and resources from the Semi and Periphery countries. The see-saw is tilted in favor of the Core, creating an imbalanced playground where, according to the theory, no matter how hard the Semi and Periphery countries try, the system is rigged against them. It's like a game where the rules are set, and the winners stay winners, regardless of the unique strengths or strategies of individual players. Core Countries: ​ United States ​ Canada ​ Western European countries (e.g., Germany, France, United Kingdom) ​ Japan GGR111 Class Notes Australia Semi-Periphery Countries: Brazil China India South Africa Mexico Periphery Countries: Many countries in Africa, such as Chad, Niger, and Mali Several countries in Central America and the Caribbean Some countries in Southeast Asia, like Cambodia and Laos Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia Active Recall Questions ● How can commodities and commodity chains be related to transportation geographies? ● How does dependency theory intertwine with globalizations and human geography? ● How can modernization theory be applied to human geography, specifically categorizations? ● What is the difference between economic geographies and transportation geographies? ● How do supply and demand relate to economic geographies and other terms form this lesson? ● Give a real life example of time-space compression from history? ● What is population geography and how did it relate to these lessons? Reminders ● Lab 1 introduced ● The zoom questions will be on the exam GGR111 Class Notes