Notes
Economic activity
- Sectors: primary (raw materials), secondary (manufacturing), tertiary (services), quaternary (information). Wealthy countries have large tertiary and quaternary sectors.
- Systems: traditional, market, command and mixed. Most countries are mixed.
Development and trade
- GDP per capita = GDP divided by population. HDI combines life expectancy, education and income. Other indicators: literacy, infant mortality, life expectancy.
- Exports leave, imports enter. A surplus means exports exceed imports. Tariffs tax imports; quotas limit them; embargoes ban trade. Comparative advantage explains why countries specialize and trade.
Countries and cooperation
- A state has territory, population, government and sovereignty. Boundaries can be physical, geometric or cultural. Landlocked countries lack a coast; enclaves lie inside another country.
- Unitary states centralize power; federal states share power. Some borders are disputed.
- Supranational groups: UN, EU, NATO, OPEC, WTO, ASEAN, African Union and USMCA.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Raw material, then manufacturing, then service and sales.
$\displaystyle \frac{240{,}000{,}000{,}000}{12{,}000{,}000} = 20{,}000$ dollars.
A trade surplus means exports exceed imports.
A straight line based on latitude is a geometric boundary.
The UN was created after World War II.
Bolivia, Mongolia and Switzerland are examples.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Country A exports mostly coffee and has low literacy and high infant mortality. Country B exports software and machinery, has high literacy and low infant mortality.
(a) Identify which economic sector dominates each country's exports.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Country A exports from the primary sector (agriculture). Country B exports from the secondary (machinery) and quaternary (software) sectors.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Explain which country is likely more developed and name two indicators that support your answer.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Country B is likely more developed. High literacy and low infant mortality are indicators (also life expectancy and GDP per capita).
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Country A's government adds a tax on imported machinery. Name this policy and describe one possible effect.
Show the answer and scoring guide
The policy is a tariff. It raises the price of imported machinery, which can protect local producers but make equipment costlier for farmers and factories.
Check off the points you earned: