| WG.7 |
The student will identify natural, human, and capital resources and explain their significance by |
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showing patterns of economic activity and land use; |
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evaluating perspectives and consequences regarding the use of resources. |
| WG.8 |
The student will distinguish between developed and developing countries and relate the level of economic development to the standard of living and quality of life. |
| WG.9 |
The student will analyze the global patterns and networks of economic interdependence by |
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identifying criteria that influence economic activities; |
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explaining comparative advantage and its relationship to international trade; |
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describing ways that economic and social interactions have changed over time; |
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describing and evaluating the formation of economic unions. |
Explain that natural substances become resources if and when they become useful to humans.
Explain the following uses of energy resources and technology as they have changed over time:
• Wood (deforestation)
• Coal (pollution, mining problems, competition with oil and gas)
• Petroleum (transportation, environmental considerations)
• Nuclear (contamination/waste)
• Solar, wind (cost, aesthetics)
Explain the following ways natural, human, and capital resources determine economic activity in regions:
• Natural resources:
- Renewable — Soil, water, forests
- Nonrenewable — Fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) and metals (gold, iron, copper, bauxite)
• Human resources:
- Level of education
- Skilled and unskilled laborers
- Entrepreneurial and managerial abilities
• Capital resources:
- Availability of money for investment
- Level of infrastructure
- Availability and use of tools, machines, and technologies
Describe the following three levels of classification for economic activity:
• Primary — Dealing directly with resources (fishing, farming, forestry, mining)
• Secondary — Manufacturing and processing (steel mills, automobile assembly, sawmills)
• Tertiary — Services (transportation, retail trade, informational technology services)
Describe the effect of unequal distribution of resources:
• Interdependence of nations/trade in goods, services, and capital resources
• Uneven economic development
• Energy producers and consumers
• Imperialism
• Conflict over control of resources
Explain, using the following information, how the location of resources influences economic activity and patterns of land use:
• Proximity of economic activity and natural resources: coal, steel; grain, cattle; fishing, ocean; hydro-electric power, aluminum smelting
• Non-proximity of resources to economic activity: Japan — Limited natural resources, major manufacturing region; United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Oil, lack of industry
Explain that the use of a resource depends on a nation’s culture, values, access to technology, and governmental priorities as they change over time.
Explain how the following social and economic priorities influence a culture’s perspective on resources:
• Economic development priorities
• Environmental conservation priorities
• Priorities of indigenous minorities
Describe the following examples of technologies that have created demand for particular resources:
• Steam engine — Demand for coal
• Internal combustion engine (cars and trucks) — Demand for gasoline (petroleum)
• Computer chips — Demand for skilled labor
Explain the following costs and benefits in the use of resources:
• Costs:
- Resource depletion
- Environmental degradation
- Health problems
• Benefits:
- Production of goods and service
- Employment opportunities
- Development of technologies
Explain that levels of economic development vary from country to country and from place to place within countries.
Use the following information to explain how and why economic development varies from one part of the world to another:
• Access to natural resources
• Access to capital resources (investment in technology and infrastructure)
• Numbers and skills of human resources
• Levels of economic development
• Standards of living and quality of life
• Relationships between economic development and quality of life
Use the following indicators of economic development to assess the standard of living and quality of life of selected countries:
• Population growth rate (natural increase)
• Population age distribution
• Literacy rate
• Life expectancy
• Infant mortality
• Percentage of urban population
Use the following information to explain how resources and technology influence economic development and quality of life:
• Urban/rural ratio
• Labor force characteristics (primary, secondary, tertiary sectors)
• GDP per capita
• Educational achievement
Explain the following criteria that influence economic activity:
• Access to human, natural, and capital resources:
- Skills of the work force
- Natural resources
- Access to new technologies
- Transportation and communication networks
- Availability of investment capital
• Location of and ability to exchange goods:
- Landlocked countries
- Coastal and island countries
- Proximity to shipping lanes
- Access to communication networks
- Membership in political and economic alliances that provide access to markets, e.g., European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA)
Explain that economic activities are influenced by availability of resources, cultural values, economic philosophies, and levels of supply and demand for goods and services.
Explain that resources are not equally distributed.
Explain that no country has all the resources it needs to survive and grow.
Explain the following effects of unequal distribution of resources and its impact on economic interdependence:
• Specialization in goods and services that a country can market for profit
• Exchange of goods and services (exporting what a country can market for profit; importing what a country cannot produce profitably)
Describe comparative advantage as a situation where countries will export goods and services that they can produce at lower relative costs than other countries.
Explain that nations participate in those economic activities compatible with their human, natural, and capital resources.
Summarize the following examples of how some countries use their resources to engage in economic activities:
• Japan — Highly industrial nation despite limited natural resources
• Russia — Numerous resources, many of which are not economically profitable to develop
• United States — Diversified economy, abundant natural resources, specialized industries
• Côte d’Ivoire — Limited natural resources, cash crops in exchange for manufactured goods
• Switzerland — Limited natural resources, production of services on a global scale
Explain the following reasons countries engage in trade:
• To import goods and services that they need
• To export goods and services that they can market for profit
Explain that international trade fosters inter-dependence.
Summarize how comparative advantage affects international trade using the following information:
• Enables nations to produce goods and services that they can market for profit
• Influences development of industries (e.g., steel, aircraft, automobile, clothing)
• Supports specialization and efficient use of human resources
Summarize the following spatial relationship changes that occur in economic and social interactions over time. Also, explain how improvements in transportation and communication promote globalization:
• Industrial labor systems (e.g., cottage industry, factory, office, telecommunications)
• Migration from rural to urban areas
• Industrialized countries export labor-intensive work to developing nations
• Growth of trade alliances
• Growth of service (tertiary) industries
• Growth of financial services networks and international banks
• Internationalization of product assembly (e.g., vehicles, electronic equipment)
• Technology that allows instant communication among people in different countries
• Modern transportation networks that allow rapid and efficient exchange of goods and materials (e.g., • Federal Express, United Parcel Service, U. S. Postal Service)
• Widespread marketing of products (e.g., Fuji film, Nike, United Colors of Benetton)
Explain that economic interdependence fosters the formation of economic unions.
Contrast the following examples of economic unions:
• EU — European Union
• NAFTA — North American Free Trade Agreement
• ASEAN — Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• OPEC — Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Compare the following advantages and disadvantages of economic unions:
Advantages of economic unions
• More efficient industries
• Access to larger markets
• Access to natural, human, and capital resources without restrictions
• Greater influence on world market
Disadvantages of economic unions
• Closing of some industries
• Concentration of some industries in certain countries, leaving peripheral areas behind
• Agribusiness replacing family farms
• Difficulty in agreeing on common economic policies
Explain that, as a global society, the world is increasingly interdependent.
Below is an annotated list of Internet resources recommended for this organizing topic. Copyright restrictions may exist for the material on some Web sites. Please note and abide by any such restrictions.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations. <http://www.aseansec.org/home.htm>. This site offers access to information on many aspects of the countries in Southeast Asia.
“European Union institutions and other bodies.” Europa: Gateway to the European Union. <http://europa.eu/index_en.htm>. This Web site introduces and provides information about the EU.
“Indicators on income and economic activity.” United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division. <http://www.un.org/esa/progareas/stats.html>. This site provides information on the Gross Domestic Product of the world’s countries.
Office of NAFTA and Inter-American Affairs. <http://www.mac.doc.gov/nafta/>. This site provides access to information about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which aims to increase access to international markets for U.S. exports.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. <http://www.opec.org/>. This is the homepage of OPEC, providing access to much information about these oil-exporting countries.
Outline Maps — Education Place. Houghton Mifflin, 2002. <http://www.eduplace.com/ss/ssmaps/>. This site permits visitors to print a variety of maps related to this organizing topic.
Ruby, Douglas A. “Comparative Advantage as a Basis for Specialization and Exchange.” The Digital Economist. <http://www.digitaleconomist.com/ca_4010.html>. This site explains the concepts of absolute advantage and comparative advantage in the world of economics.
Subject Access: World Geography, Languages, and Regional Information. Discovery Channel School. <http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/world/geog.html>. This site provides links to many Web sites on geography.
The World Factbook. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. <https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>This site contains searchable information on all countries.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: History and Social Science Released Items for Virginia and United States History. Virginia Department of Education 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/Release2003/History/VA-RIBs_g11wgeo-1.pdf>.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: World Geography Test Blueprint. Virginia Department of Education, 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/HistoryBlueprints03/2002Blueprint9WG.pdf>. This site provides assessment information for the course in World Geography. |
