Introduction to Economic Geography – UGC NET – Notes

Meaning of Economic Geography

Economic geography is one of the most important sub-fields of human geography.

It is the study of man and his economic activities under varying sets of conditions. Economic geography is related to the systematic and analytical study of the spatial location and distribution patterns of economic activities of man on the earth’s surface. It attempts to explain the changing temporal and spatial trends in the growth of economic systems and their patterns of distribution.

The main focus of economic geography lies in the systematic explanation of spatial variations in people’s economic activities, standards of living, and human–nature interaction. Thus, economic geography deals with both economic phenomena and spatial (geographical) phenomena. As a branch of geography, it studies spatial variations in economic activities and the processes through which wealth is produced, distributed, exchanged, and consumed.

Different scholars have defined economic geography in various ways, but their views converge on the idea that it is the study of the spatial distribution of man’s economic activities in relation to the environment, both physical and non-physical.

Hartshorne (1954) stated that
“Geography is concerned with providing accurate, orderly, and rational description and explanation of the variable character of the earth’s surface.”

Thus, geography is the scientific study of the earth, its resources, and its inhabitants.

In the earlier stage, geography was studied as a comprehensive science without compartmentalisation. Later, it was divided into two main branches: physical geography and human geography.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, human geography was further subdivided into several branches, with economic geography being one of them. This classification was based on dominant human activities.

Human activities on the earth’s surface may be divided into two categories:

1. Activities performed to maintain human existence, such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, which fall under human geography; and

2. Activities performed to earn economic profit, such as farming, manufacturing, trade, and commerce, which relate to economic geography.

The key distinction between the two branches lies in the objective of the activity. Food gathering is a means of subsistence, whereas selling produce for income is an economic activity. Similarly, house construction for residence differs from the production and sale of building materials, which is an economic activity. Hence, all activities aimed at improving quality of life and prosperity fall within economic geography.

Based on their nature, economic activities are classified into five sectors: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary, and Quinary.

• Primary activities involve the direct use of natural resources, such as agriculture, mining, hunting, and fishing.
• Secondary activities involve manufacturing and the processing of raw materials, for example, iron ore mining (primary) and steel manufacturing (secondary).
• Tertiary activities do not involve production and include services such as transport and trade.

With increasing specialisation in the modern economy, quaternary and quinary activities have emerged, consisting of highly specialised services in areas such as banking, research, technology, and telecommunication.

Definitions of Economic Geography

Some important and meaningful definitions of economic geography are given below:

“Economic geography makes a scientific investigation of the nature of world areas in their direct influence on the production of goods.”
— Gtatezlr

“Economic geography deals with the distribution of material resources, activities, institutions, customs, capacities, and types of ability that play a part in the work of getting a living.”
— E. Huntington

“Economic geography has to deal with similarities and differences from place to place in the ways people make a living.”
— R. E. Murphy

“Economic geography deals with productive occupations and attempts to explain why certain regions are outstanding in the production and export of various articles and why others are significant in their import and utilization.”
— C. P. Jones

“Economic geography is the study of spatial variation on the earth’s surface of activities related to producing, exchanging, and consuming goods and services.”
— T. A. Hartshorne & S. W. Alexander

“Economic geography deals with the economic life of man in relation to the environment.”
— E. W. Zimmerman

“Economic geography is the study of the influence of physical environment on the economic activity of man, particularly the form and structure of land, climatic conditions, and regional relationships.”
— J. McFarlane

“Economic geography may be defined as an enquiry into the production, exchange, and consumption of goods by people in different areas of the world, with special emphasis on the location of economic activities.”
— R. S. Thoman