Economic geography

Economic geography is the branch of human geography that relates and sympathizes with economic activity (consumption and production) with the place in the world where it is carried out. Geographers are interested not just in where things are but in why they are located where they are, and in the nature of processes affecting consumers and a set of production establishments within some defined space. Consumers (all people) are mobile, while establishments are in fixed locations. Consumers move to consume goods and services, although sometimes it is the products that move from the place of production to the consumer (home delivery), but the usual thing is that the product and the consumer move to a place of meeting: the market.

Theoretically, in a free market economy, demand and supply are reflected in prices. But, if the spatial variable is introduced, it is also necessary to take into account the cost of moving both the product and the consumers, which is measured both in money and in time spent on the move. The price reflects the last (marginal) unit of an item or service placed on the market, while the value depends on the need for the consumer.

All people are consumers. Factories that produce goods and services are classified into industries. A company is a unit of business ownership. In reality, the economic space is anything but homogeneous, and not all consumers think and behave in the same way, and they change over time, which greatly complicates the geographical analysis of economic phenomena. And, to complicate matters, the economic systems that develop in the different regions are not isolated from each other, but rather interfere. How, why, where, when does this happen, deals with economic geography.

Importance of Economic Geography

Since the beginning of its existence, human beings have sought to satisfy their basic needs: reproduction, food, clothing and housing, taking advantage of the resources that the environment provides. The ways of life of human groups became more complicated as civilization progressed, going through several stages: gathering, grazing, fishing, agriculture, livestock, industry, etc.

Trade is the activity that has most influenced the way of life of human groups, since they no longer produce to satisfy only their needs, but do so in order to exchange their products with those of other groups dedicated to different activities. Thus began the division of labor and the regionalization of productive activities. These changes in the way of life are accelerated with the development of industrial, commercial, transportation and communication activities, shaping the current economic forms of modern society.

In order to understand the different forms of economic organization and exploitation of natural resources that are carried out in the different regions and countries of the world, in addition to geographical factors, other aspects must be known such as: the technological revolution of the century XX, which determined increasing automation, the application of appropriate technologies, availability of capital, existence of skilled labor, stability of governments and stimulating administrative policies. Finally, the economic organization of the world must be taken into account, divided into large economic blocks that have a very significant influence in their respective areas.

All these facts are studied and analyzed by Economic Geography, from the location, causality and relationship of economic phenomena, so its importance is evident.

Economic geography analyzes the combination of natural and spatial factors in the study of the economic activities of a region or a country.

This specialty studies the location and nature of economic activities, land use patterns, its value in relation to transportation routes, land profitability, the spatial distribution of productive activities in the cities and the world.

Economic geography studies supply-demand relationships from a spatial perspective, to do so it analyzes the location and characteristics of "producing" and its spatial and temporal relationship with "consumer" places. These processes are related to the laws of the market, national and international trade, the processes of globalization of the economy and the economic situation of each country.

Economic sectors

One way to understand the relationships between economic activities and space is through the analysis of economic sectors, since the increase in products also implies a great diversity in the ways of producing them. The classification of the economic sectors has been established according to national criteria adopted by the different countries. In this way, the economic sectors are classified as:

Primary sector

It covers all economic activities that are based on the extraction of goods and natural resources. The main activities of the primary sector are agriculture, fishing, forest exploitation, mining exploitation, energy production and water collection, so that they are fundamentally linked to the rural environment. These constitute the basic supply of resources and inputs for other activities.

Secondary sector

Includes the activities of transformation of goods and resources extracted from the natural environment. These processes are developed mainly in urban areas, taking advantage of the nearby existence of labor and potential consumers. It includes all the economic activities of a country related to the transformation of food industries and other types of goods or merchandise. It's part of the economic activity. The different processes are becoming more automated.

Tertiary sector

Includes those activities whose products are not tangible goods, but are intangible, but are subject to economic transactions, such as banking, commerce, transportation, and tourism, among others. Because they are immaterial in nature, they are less linked to specific spaces, but it is in the urban space where they are best displayed.

Quaternary sector

The quaternary sector is an economic sector that includes highly intellectual services such as research, development, innovation (R+D, R+D+I). Traditionally it was considered part of the tertiary sector but its increasingly growing and differentiated importance has led some authors to advocate considering it as a separate sector.

Includes high-tech industry, information technology and telecommunications, and some forms of scientific research, as well as education, consulting, and the information industry. It allows to identify and analyze the productive process of goods and services destined to the satisfaction of human needs.