Economic Geography: Definition, nature and scope..pptx

Economic geography is important because it helps us understand the complex relationship between economic activity and geography. It helps us understand how the world's economy is distributed, and how regions interact with each other. Man is a dynamic being and his interactions with nature and economic activities change from time to time. Thus economic geography provides a relentless scope for students to study.

1. Economic Geography Lecture prepared by : Ms. F Phibawanlang Kharpran Asst. Professor Umshyrpi College, Shillong DEFINITION , NATURE AND SCOPE

2. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY Economics refers in one way or another to business activity, jobs and/or money. Economics is a branch of knowledge that seeks to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. It studies how individuals, businesses, governments, and nations make choices about how to allocate resources, seeking the most optimal level of benefit or utility Smith defined economics  as “an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations.”

3. Erathosthenes : Geography is the description of the earth surface as the world of man. Hartshorne : Geography is concerned to provide accurate, orderly and rational description and interpretation of the variable character of the earth surface. Ackerman : it is the study of spatial distributions and space relations on the earth’s surface. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

4. Leong and Morgan: Economic geography is a branch of human geography. It deals with the distribution of natural resources and their use by man . Hartshorn and Alexander in their book economic geography, defines the subject as The study of the spatial variation on the earths surface of activities related to producing, exchanging and consuming of goods and services. Whenever possible the goal is to develop generalization and theories to account for these spatial variation. Dudley Stamp: Economic Geography involves consideration of the geographical and other factors which influence mans productivity , but only in limited depths so far as they are connected with production and trade. What is Economic Geography ?

5. R. S. Thoman in his book ‘The Geography of Economic Activity’ has remarked, “Eco­nomic Geography may be defined as an enquiry into the production, exchange and consump­tion of goods by people in different areas of the world. Particular emphasis is placed on the location of economic activity — upon asking just why economic functions are situated where they are in this world.” Surpassing all, Chisholmes says that Economic Geography is presumed to “form some reasonable estimate of the future course of commercial development,” as determined by geographi­cal factors. What is Economic Geography ?

6. The nature of economic geography relates with the nature of geography in general. Economic Geography is dynamic in nature and is constantly changing. Since economic geography is concern with man-environment interaction, therefore it can never be static. man as an element of study in every aspect is dynamic and always seeking for new opportunities to satisfy his wants. Human wants is not confine only to his basic needs i.e. food, clothing and shelter. With the growth of civilization and development man wants increases, but the immediate surrounding of man cannot provide all the materials needed for development. Thus raw materials are moved from surplus to deficit areas. Then industries and transport system were developed. Towns and ports grew for this purpose. Services are diversified more and more as the economy grows. Nature and Scope of Economic Geography

7. Economic geography is interdisciplinary in nature . Like all other branches of geography economic geography does not have a clear and well define boundary. Overlapping is a common occurrence generally as a result of integrated nature of approach . For example, Economic geography when undertaking the investigation of development in a country or region considers several factors which generally divide themselves into two broad categories: physical and economic. Nature and Scope of Economic Geography Main areas of investigation: Technological change Geopolitics Cultural homogenization/localization Transport & communication cost reductions Fall of centrally planned economies Rise of global capital markets Institutions and governance World Bank, IMF, WTO, OPEC, OECD

8. Nature and Scope of Economic Geography Economic geography is concerned about: The spatial organization and distribution of economic activity: Production (primary, secondary, tertiary) Transportation Communication Consumption The use of the world’s resources. The geographic origins, structure, and dynamics of the world economy.

9. Books to refer HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY by G.C. Leong and G.C. Morgan. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: A STUDY OF RESOURCES by Prithwish Roy. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY by Hartshorne and Alexander