Economic Geography: Agriculture, Industry, Transport and Trade
What this domain tests
This domain covers economic sectors, agricultural systems, industrial location factors, transport modes and trade balances.
Core rules
- Sectors: primary (agriculture, mining), secondary (manufacturing), tertiary (services), quaternary (knowledge-based).
- Agricultural systems include subsistence, commercial, plantation and mixed farming. Crop choice depends on climate, soil, water and market.
- Industrial location factors: raw materials, power, labour, transport, market, capital and agglomeration. Weight-losing industries locate near raw materials; footloose industries are less tied to one input.
- Trade balance = exports minus imports. A surplus is positive; a deficit is negative.
Worked example
Why did cotton textile mills historically cluster near cotton-growing regions? Cotton loses weight when ginned, so transporting raw cotton is costly. Humid conditions also help spinning. Early mills therefore favoured raw-material and climate advantages, though market and labour later became stronger.
Traps
Mining is primary, not secondary. Tertiary activities do not manufacture goods. A trade surplus means exports exceed imports, not that imports are zero. Plantation agriculture is commercial, not subsistence.