Benefits & Costs of Global Shift
The Global Shift
- The term ‘global shift’ refers to the relocation of different types of industry, especially manufacturing
- Since the 1960s, many industries have relocated from Europe and North America to Asia, South America and more recently, Africa
- This global shift is a result of a combination of off-shoring, outsourcing and new business start-ups in emerging economies such as China and India
- This global shift has also led to unethical practices being ‘exported’ e.g., poor working conditions, child labour and low wages
The Costs & Benefits of the Global Shift for Asia
Benefits |
Costs |
Poverty reduction Globally over 1 billion people have escaped poverty, with over 500 million in China alone A ‘new global middle class’ has emerged to describe the increasing number of working people in urban areas |
Unplanned settlements The growing trend of high-rise developments in cities leads to a loss of recreational space Rapid urbanisation often leads to an increase in unplanned settlements e.g., Dharavi in Mumbai is home to around 1 million people |
Waged work Many people are now earning between US$10 and US$100 per day working in the manufacturing or services sectors |
Loss of productive land Land has been exploited and overused which leads to soil erosion and soil infertility |
Infrastructure investment Economic growth leads to investment in infrastructure Development of motorways, high-speed railways and airports
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Environmental and resource pressure Loss of forested land due to urbanisation, logging and farming Reduced demand of natural resources such as soybeans and iron ore can negatively impact economic growth
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Education & training Education has improved across Asia Millions of graduate degrees are presented by over 2500 universities in China, India and South Korea alone Asian countries play a vital role in the quaternary sector
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Worked example
Explain one reason why many people in the developed world support the global shift of industry[4 marks]
Answer:
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