Human Geography, Interactive Study Questions: Chapter 13

There are several factors involved in industrial restructuring. The increased separation and flexibility of production processes has been facilitated by electronically-controlled assembly lines. Organizational flexibility is increased through the growth of transaction technologies, such as computer-based and just-in-time inventory control. Further, market size and the exchange of information are increased by the growth of circulation technologies, such as satellites and fibre optic networks.

Substitutes for gasoline include the conversion of agricultural products to alcohol. In Brazil, alcohol for cars is a by-product of sugar cane. Other regions are increasing their fleet of electric cars, reasoning that electricity can be readily generated from solar, wind, biomass, biogas, and nuclear power technologies.

The behavioural approach to explaining industrial location theory is to take the approach of explicitly analyzing why things are where they are. This is a more analytical than normative approach, as normative approaches focus on what ought to be as opposed to why.

Eighty per cent of global industrial location is located in five world regions. These are eastern North America, Western Europe, western Russia, the Ukraine, Japan, and China. Although China is the most recent country in the list to develop industrialization, it is industrializing rapidly. The earliest regions of industrialization in the list are those of Western Europe and Eastern North America.

Some of the obstacles that make it difficult for developing countries to industrialize include the legacy of former colonial rule, where colonized countries were mainly producers of raw materials but secondary activities were not supported; a lack of infrastructure, as well as a lack of the capital needed to support industrial activities within these countries; and the lack of a skilled labour force.