Topic 4: Economic activity and energy
Unit 4: Economic Activity and Energy - Syllabus
Unit 4: Economic Activity and Energy - Textbook
4.1 (a) CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT BY ECONOMIC SECTOR AND
EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURES-----------------------
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
● People need food, clothes, a place to live, medical attention and so on.
● Economic activities are all the processes used to obtain the goods and services that people need
● Economic activities provide jobs to the society → people have a salary to satisfy their unlimited
needs and wants
Land: Natural resources used in the production of goods and services
Labour: The people that work in the business ( e.g teachers, joiners, builders or doctors)
Capital: The money and equipment used to produce the product or service (e.g machinery or delivery
trucks)
Enterprise: Having an idea of how to use the land, labour and capital to make a profit. Making decisions.
ECONOMIC SECTORS
Secondary sector of the economy: definition, background, examples | Economic Activity
Quaternary sector: definition, background, examples | Economic Activity
● Economic activities can be divided into three large sectors: primary, secondary and tertiary
○ There is also a fourth sector → quaternary sector
Sector Activities Examples
Primary ● Obtain food and raw material from Farmers, miners, quarrymen, oil rig
(Developing the land or the sea workers, fishermen
country) ● Work with natural resources Intensive farming
● Intensive farming: Agriculture of both
crop plants and animals, but with
higher levels of input and output p/
agricultural land area
Secondary ● Raw materials → finished products Processing: iron ore, food
● Processing e.g food or minerals Making: microchips
● Making things by manufacturing Assembling: cars
● Assembling Building: houses
● Building Other: steelmaking, factories, carpenter
Tertiary - ● Providing goods and services to Commercial: Retailing and banking
,Service society, but do not produce Professional: Solicitors and accountants
Sector manufactured goods Social: Schools and doctors
(Developed ● Commercial services Entertainment: Restaurants and cinemas
country) ● Professional services Personal: Hairdressers and fitness trainers
● Social services Other examples: Public and private
● Entertainment services transport, football players,
● Personal services businessmen/women
*Quaternary* ● High-tech service industry ICT, research and development (STEM),
● Carries out research and provides scientists, engineers, web designing,
specialist information and expertise pioneering heart transplants
● Generation of new knowledge
● Researchers in universities
EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURES - FIRST MEASURE OF THE RELATIVE STRENGTH
OF SECTORS
● Diagrams that show us the percentage of each sector in a society (usually only shows
the primary, the secondary, and the tertiary sector)
● Percentage of each sector changes from one country to another country depending on
its level development
PERCENTAGE OF GDP OR GNI - SECOND MEASURE OF THE RELATIVE STRENGTH OF
SECTORS
● GDP vs GNI
○ GDP (Gross Domestic Product): total market value of all finished goods and services produced
within a country in a set time period
○ GNI (Gross National Income): the total income received by the country from its residents and
businesses regardless of whether they are located in the country or abroad
CLARK-FISHER MODEL
● 1.8% of the population in the U.S works in agriculture, therefore the complexities of the Clark-Fisher
Model is always different to the data within the country
The Clark Fisher Model shows how the importance of
different sectors is different in countries at different
levels of development, over time and over space.
, Key characteristics of each stage in the Clark-Fisher model
Pre-industrial - dominated by primary sector, mainly consists of mining and agriculture etc, relatively
underdeveloped economies
Industrial - growth of manufacturing industry (secondary sector), mainly used to support the growing
population with goods and services such as transport, water, electricity and finance etc.
Post-industrial - manufacturing dies away, making the tertiary sector more important, this is now more
common in many MEDC’s (more economically developed country)
CASE STUDY - A developing world/emerging country: Haiti
Describe the location & make reference to the countries it borders.
Haiti is a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic to its east. It’s
capital is Port-au-Prince and, as of 2020, has a population of 11.4 million.
What is the GDP/GNI? (Total and per capita)
It’s GDP per capita is 1,176.76 USD (2020), and has a total GDP of 13.42 billion USD (2020).
What percentage of the population work within each sector?
Agriculture 38.1%
industry 11.5%
services 50.4% (2010 est.)
What percentage of GDP/GNI does each sector of employment account for?
Agriculture - 21.9%
Industry - 20.8%
Services - 57.3%
(2017)
What are its major commodities (products produced and sold)?
Haiti’s major commodities are clothing, scrap metal, vegetable oils, dates and cocoa
Who are its major trading partners?
Its major trading partner is the United States, accounting for over 80 percent of total exports. Other trading
partners include the Dominican Republic and Netherland Antilles.
Is there evidence of rural poverty? Why?
Yes, as Haiti is vulnerable to natural disasters, and has limited access to education. Two-fifths of all Haitians
depend on its agriculture, but this is exacerbated by the widespread deforestation. Expansion is difficult as
mountains cover much of the countryside and limit the land available for cultivation.
Has there been any evidence of development and improvements in this country? How and why?
Although Haiti is the poorest country in the Latin America and Caribbean region, they have made significant
progress in controlling cholera, where there have been no confirmed cases since 2019. However, Haiti is still
Unit 4: Economic Activity and Energy - Syllabus
Unit 4: Economic Activity and Energy - Textbook
4.1 (a) CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT BY ECONOMIC SECTOR AND
EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURES-----------------------
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
● People need food, clothes, a place to live, medical attention and so on.
● Economic activities are all the processes used to obtain the goods and services that people need
● Economic activities provide jobs to the society → people have a salary to satisfy their unlimited
needs and wants
Land: Natural resources used in the production of goods and services
Labour: The people that work in the business ( e.g teachers, joiners, builders or doctors)
Capital: The money and equipment used to produce the product or service (e.g machinery or delivery
trucks)
Enterprise: Having an idea of how to use the land, labour and capital to make a profit. Making decisions.
ECONOMIC SECTORS
Secondary sector of the economy: definition, background, examples | Economic Activity
Quaternary sector: definition, background, examples | Economic Activity
● Economic activities can be divided into three large sectors: primary, secondary and tertiary
○ There is also a fourth sector → quaternary sector
Sector Activities Examples
Primary ● Obtain food and raw material from Farmers, miners, quarrymen, oil rig
(Developing the land or the sea workers, fishermen
country) ● Work with natural resources Intensive farming
● Intensive farming: Agriculture of both
crop plants and animals, but with
higher levels of input and output p/
agricultural land area
Secondary ● Raw materials → finished products Processing: iron ore, food
● Processing e.g food or minerals Making: microchips
● Making things by manufacturing Assembling: cars
● Assembling Building: houses
● Building Other: steelmaking, factories, carpenter
Tertiary - ● Providing goods and services to Commercial: Retailing and banking
,Service society, but do not produce Professional: Solicitors and accountants
Sector manufactured goods Social: Schools and doctors
(Developed ● Commercial services Entertainment: Restaurants and cinemas
country) ● Professional services Personal: Hairdressers and fitness trainers
● Social services Other examples: Public and private
● Entertainment services transport, football players,
● Personal services businessmen/women
*Quaternary* ● High-tech service industry ICT, research and development (STEM),
● Carries out research and provides scientists, engineers, web designing,
specialist information and expertise pioneering heart transplants
● Generation of new knowledge
● Researchers in universities
EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURES - FIRST MEASURE OF THE RELATIVE STRENGTH
OF SECTORS
● Diagrams that show us the percentage of each sector in a society (usually only shows
the primary, the secondary, and the tertiary sector)
● Percentage of each sector changes from one country to another country depending on
its level development
PERCENTAGE OF GDP OR GNI - SECOND MEASURE OF THE RELATIVE STRENGTH OF
SECTORS
● GDP vs GNI
○ GDP (Gross Domestic Product): total market value of all finished goods and services produced
within a country in a set time period
○ GNI (Gross National Income): the total income received by the country from its residents and
businesses regardless of whether they are located in the country or abroad
CLARK-FISHER MODEL
● 1.8% of the population in the U.S works in agriculture, therefore the complexities of the Clark-Fisher
Model is always different to the data within the country
The Clark Fisher Model shows how the importance of
different sectors is different in countries at different
levels of development, over time and over space.
, Key characteristics of each stage in the Clark-Fisher model
Pre-industrial - dominated by primary sector, mainly consists of mining and agriculture etc, relatively
underdeveloped economies
Industrial - growth of manufacturing industry (secondary sector), mainly used to support the growing
population with goods and services such as transport, water, electricity and finance etc.
Post-industrial - manufacturing dies away, making the tertiary sector more important, this is now more
common in many MEDC’s (more economically developed country)
CASE STUDY - A developing world/emerging country: Haiti
Describe the location & make reference to the countries it borders.
Haiti is a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic to its east. It’s
capital is Port-au-Prince and, as of 2020, has a population of 11.4 million.
What is the GDP/GNI? (Total and per capita)
It’s GDP per capita is 1,176.76 USD (2020), and has a total GDP of 13.42 billion USD (2020).
What percentage of the population work within each sector?
Agriculture 38.1%
industry 11.5%
services 50.4% (2010 est.)
What percentage of GDP/GNI does each sector of employment account for?
Agriculture - 21.9%
Industry - 20.8%
Services - 57.3%
(2017)
What are its major commodities (products produced and sold)?
Haiti’s major commodities are clothing, scrap metal, vegetable oils, dates and cocoa
Who are its major trading partners?
Its major trading partner is the United States, accounting for over 80 percent of total exports. Other trading
partners include the Dominican Republic and Netherland Antilles.
Is there evidence of rural poverty? Why?
Yes, as Haiti is vulnerable to natural disasters, and has limited access to education. Two-fifths of all Haitians
depend on its agriculture, but this is exacerbated by the widespread deforestation. Expansion is difficult as
mountains cover much of the countryside and limit the land available for cultivation.
Has there been any evidence of development and improvements in this country? How and why?
Although Haiti is the poorest country in the Latin America and Caribbean region, they have made significant
progress in controlling cholera, where there have been no confirmed cases since 2019. However, Haiti is still
