GG 302: Economic Geography
Spring Term 2005
Instructor: Dr. William Osei
Meeting Times: Thursday: 6-10 p.m.
Course Description
The course will provide a study of the processes and factors that influence the spatial
distribution of economic activities. Special attention is given to industrial location,
patterns of international trade, and resource use and conservation. Various socioeconomic and spatial models are used to examine the location and functions of economic
activities at the primary, secondary, and tertiary and quaternary (services) levels. The role
of population, transportation, communications, and urbanization in the world economy
are emphasized. Also central to the course are the effects of technological innovations,
global and regional economic and political structures, and resources and the environment
on economic development patterns over space and time. Linkages of international trade
in the global village, and issues related to global development provide a conclusion to the
course.
Required Course Text
Stutz, F.P., Warf, B. (2005) The World Economy: Resources, Location, Trade, and
Development Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River: New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Suggested Readings
Berry, Conkling, Ray (1997) The Global Economy in Transition Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.
Dicken, Peter. Global Shift (1998) Transforming the World Economy. 3rd
Edition, New York: Guilford Press
Dicken, Peter and Peter E. Lloyd (1990) Location in Space: Theoretical
Perspective in Economic Geography. 3rd edition New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company
Hanink, Dean M. (1997), Principles and Applications of Economic
Geography: Economy, Policy, Environment. New York: Wiley
Hanink, Dean M (1994) The International Economy: A Geographical
Perspective New York: Wiley
Knox, P, Agnew, J, McCarthy, L. (2003) The Geography of the World Economy 4th
Edition. Madison Avenue, New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc.
Shaffer, R. (1989) Community Economics: Economic Structure
and Change in Smaller Communities, Aimes, IA: Iowa State University Press

Additional readings will be provided

Various useful texts and journals of Economic Geography are in your library. Also
note various electronic sources.
Suggested Course Evaluation
Class Exercises (From Study Questions)
Two Unit Quizzes
25%
Project Essay
20%
Final Exams
35%
*Class Participation
10%
10%
You must maintain excellent class attendance to avoid academic penalties. You are also
encouraged to submit all course assignments by stipulated deadlines. Your presence in
the class is essential for a successful school term. Economic Geography is an interesting
course. I hope that you will enjoy the course.
*Marks for class participation will be assessed by both classroom attendance and active
involvement in regularly scheduled class discussions (debates on selected issues).
Course Details
Unit 1: Introduction: Globalization of the World Economy: An Introduction
A Background: The Geographic perspective
 The Field of Geography
 Trends in Economic Geography
 Human-Environmental Relations
 Some Fundamental Concepts of Space and Location
 Spatial Interaction
 Geographic Research in Aid of Development
 Summary and Plan
Globalization
 Concept; Basis; Processes; Spatial expressions of Globalization
 Globalization of Environmental Challenges


Core-Periphery Models and Globalization
The Balance: A discussion of Globalization
Unit 2: The Historical Development of Capitalism
Feudalism and the Birth of Capitalism
 Character of Feudalism
 The End of Feudalism
The Emergence and Nature of Capitalism
 Markets
 Class Relations
 Finance
 Territorial and Geographic Changes
 Long-Distance Trade
 The Nation-State
The Industrial Revolution
Colonialism: Capitalism on a World Scale
A summary
Unit Three: Population and the World Economy
Global Population Distribution
Factors Influencing Population Distribution
Population Growth over Time and Space
 Population Change
Demographic Transition Theory
Population Structure
 The Baby Boom and its Impacts
Migration
A Summary
Unit Four: Resources and Environment
Introduction: Resources and Population
 Carrying Capacity and Overpopulation
 Optimum Population and the Quality of Life
Types of Resources and their Limits
 Resources and Reserves
 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
 Limits of Natural Resources
Food Resources
 Nutritional Quality of Life
 Causes of the Food Problem
 Increasing Food Production
 Creating New Food Supplies and Sources
Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
 Depletion Curve and Depletion Rate Estimates
 Location of projected Reserves of Key Minerals
 Importation of Key Minerals to the United States
 Ocean Mineral Resources
Environmental Impact of Mineral extraction
Energy
 Production and Consumption; Energy Policy
 Alternative Energy Options
Environmental Challenges
 From a Growth-Oriented to a Balance-Oriented Life-Style
Unit Five: World Agricultural and Rural Land Use
The Rise of Agriculture
 Transforming Environments through Agriculture
The Industrialization of Agriculture
Factors Affecting Rural Land Use
 Site Characteristics
 World Cultural Preference and Perception Systems of Production
 Relative Location of Farms
 Von Thunen’s Model
 Von Thunen’s Model and Reality
Systems of Agricultural Production
A Summary
Unit Six: Theoretical Considerations
Factors of Location
 Labour
 Land
 Capital
 Managerial Skills
The Weberian Model
Techniques of Scale Consideration
How and Why firms grow
Forces of Production and Social Relations
Business Cycles and Regional Landscapes
A summary
Unit Seven: Transportation and Communications in World Economy
Transport Costs in the World Economy
General properties of Transport Costs
 Commodity Variations in Transport Rates
 Freight Rate Variations and Traffic Characteristics
 Regimes for International Transportation
Transport and Location
Routes and Networks
 Flows in Networks
Improved Transport Facilities
 Transportation of Nuclear Wastes
 Transportation in World Cities
Personal Mobility in the United States
 Communication Improvements
Computer Networks and Multinational Firms
A Summary
Unit Eight: Urban Land Use: Theory and Practice
Cities and Societies
 Basic Forms of Society
 Transformation of Market Exchange
 Relative Importance of Different Modes of Exchange
The Process of City Building
 Cost Behaviour of the Single Firm
 Scale Economies and Diseconomies of the Single Firm
 Transportation Costs of the Single Firm
 Economic Costs and City Building
Intraurban Spatial Organization
 The Competing Bidding Process
 Ceiling Rents
 The Residential Location Decision
 Site Demand of Firms
 Market Outcomes
Classical Models of Urban Land Use
Models of Third World City Structure
Sprawling Metropolis: Patterns and Problems
Visions of Future Metropolitan Life
A Summary
Unit Nine: Manufacturing
The nature of Manufacturing
Concentration of World Manufacturing
 North America
 Europe
 Japan
Globalization of Major manufacturing
 Sectors
 Textiles and Garment
 Automobiles
 Electronics
Changing Geography of US Manufacturing
The Products Circle of manufacturing.
Unit Ten: International Business: Dynamics and World Patterns
Dynamics
 International Trade
 International Flows of production Factors
 Barriers to International Business
 Multinational Economic Organizations
 A New International Economic Order
World Patterns
 Modelling Commodity Flows
 Competitive Advantage of a Nation
 The World Economy in Transition
 A new Focus of International Economic Activity
 Major Global Trade Flows
 Regional patterns of World Trade
 North America
 Western Europe
 East Asia and the Pacific
 Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union
 The Middle East
A Summary
Unit Eleven: Development and Underdevelopment
What is in a Word? “Developing”
 From Primitive to Underdeveloped
The Goals of Development
 Characteristics of less Developed Countries
 The Less Developed Countries’ Debt Crisis
 How Economic Development is measured
Major Perspectives on Development
Colonialism and Global Core-Periphery Models
 Regional Disparities Within Underdeveloped Countries
 The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union
 Third World Urban Peasants: A study in the Unequal
 The basic-Needs Crisis



Help for Less Developed Countries from Advanced nations
World Bank Aid
Summary