Ap Human Geography Unit 7 Vocab

Mastering the vocabulary for AP Human Geography Unit 7 is the single most effective strategy for decoding the complex economic landscapes tested on the exam. On the flip side, this unit, formally titled Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes, moves beyond the "where" of human activity to the "why" and "how" of global inequality, manufacturing logic, and sustainable growth. Worth adding: unlike previous units that rely heavily on memorizing models, Unit 7 demands a fluent command of specific terminology to analyze case studies, interpret data sets, and construct sophisticated Free Response Question (FRQ) arguments. Whether you are aiming for a 5 or simply trying to solidify a passing grade, treating these terms as analytical tools rather than flashcard fodder will transform your understanding of the modern world economy That alone is useful..

The Foundations: Measuring Development and Inequality

Before diving into factories and trade routes, you must internalize how geographers quantify "progress." The College Board expects you to critique these metrics, not just define them The details matter here. Still holds up..

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) vs. Gross National Income (GNI) While GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced within a country’s borders, GNI adds income earned by residents from overseas investments and subtracts income earned by foreign residents within the country. For countries with significant foreign ownership or large diaspora remittances (like Ireland or the Philippines), the gap between these two figures reveals the reality of economic leakage or dependency.

GNI per Capita (PPP) The standard metric for comparing standards of living is GNI per capita at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). PPP adjusts for the cost of living—$100 buys significantly more in Hanoi than in New York. This adjustment is critical for the Brandt Line concept, the outdated but still referenced north-south divide separating the wealthy "Global North" from the developing "Global South."

The Human Development Index (HDI) Published by the UN, the HDI is the gold standard composite indicator. It synthesizes three dimensions:

1. Long and healthy life (Life expectancy at birth).
2. Knowledge (Mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling).
3. Decent standard of living (GNI per capita PPP). Exam Tip: You must be able to explain why a country might have a high GDP but a low HDI (e.g., Equatorial Guinea—resource wealth concentrated in elite hands) or a moderate GDP but a high HDI (e.g., Cuba or Costa Rica—strong state investment in health/education).

Gender Inequality Index (GII) & Gender Development Index (GDI) Development is not gender-neutral. The GII measures reproductive health, empowerment (parliamentary seats, education), and labor market participation. The GDI compares male vs. female HDI values. High development does not guarantee gender equity; the "glass ceiling" persists even in very high HDI nations.

The Theoretical Frameworks: Why Are Some Places Rich and Others Poor?

Unit 7 revolves around competing explanations for the development gap. You cannot simply define these theories; you must apply them to specific regions.

Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth (Modernization Theory)

W.W. Rostow’s linear, five-stage model (Traditional Society $\rightarrow$ Preconditions for Take-off $\rightarrow$ Take-off $\rightarrow$ Drive to Maturity $\rightarrow$ Age of High Mass Consumption) reflects a Western-centric, capitalist bias. It assumes all countries follow the same trajectory via industrialization, foreign investment, and technology transfer.

• Critique: Ignores historical context (colonialism), environmental limits, and cultural differences. It assumes a "trickle-down" effect that often fails to materialize.

Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory (Dependency Theory)

Immanuel Wallerstein offers a structural, Marxist alternative. The world is a single capitalist economy divided into a hierarchy:

• Core: High-wage, high-tech, diversified economies (USA, Western Europe, Japan). They exploit the periphery.
• Periphery: Low-wage, low-tech, extractive economies (much of Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Latin America). They are dependent on core capital.
• Semi-periphery: The "middle class" of nations (Brazil, China, India, South Africa). They exploit the periphery but are exploited by the core. This group is crucial for system stability—it prevents a binary polarization that could lead to revolution.
• Key Concept: Uneven Development. Capitalism requires inequality to function; development in the core is historically contingent on underdevelopment in the periphery.

The Core-Periphery Model (Friedmann)

At the national or regional scale, John Friedmann describes how development spreads from a core region (capital, innovation, government) to a periphery (resources, labor). This creates spatial inequality—think the US Northeast vs. Appalachia, or Coastal China vs. Western China. Concepts like backwash effects (core drains talent/capital from periphery) and spread effects (core eventually stimulates periphery growth) are essential FRQ vocabulary.

Industrialization: Location, Logic, and Leaps

Understanding where factories locate and why they move is the operational heart of Unit 7.

Weber’s Least Cost Theory

Alfred Weber’s model is the classic location theory. It posits that firms choose locations minimizing three cost categories:

1. Transportation Costs (Weight-gaining vs. Weight-losing industries).
   • Bulk-reducing (Weight-losing): Locate near raw materials (e.g., copper smelting, steel mills near iron/coal).
   • Bulk-gaining: Locate near markets (e.g., beverage bottling, fabricated metal).
2. Labor Costs: Cheap labor allows location further from materials/markets (footloose industries).
3. Agglomeration Economies: Clustering lowers costs (shared infrastructure, labor pool, knowledge spillovers).

• Deglomeration: When clustering costs (congestion, high rent) exceed benefits, firms disperse.

The New International Division of Labor (NIDL)

This describes the spatial shift of manufacturing from More Developed Countries (MDCs) to Less Developed Countries (LDCs). Driven by transnational corporations (TNCs) seeking comparative advantage (primarily low labor costs and lax regulations), this created the Global Assembly Line. Production is fragmented: R&D/design in the Core (Silicon Valley), assembly in the Semi-periphery/Periphery (Shenzhen, Vietnam, Mexico), and consumption back in the Core.

Fordism vs. Post-Fordism (Flexible Accumulation)

• Fordism: Mass production, mass consumption. Standardized goods (Model T), rigid assembly lines, strong unions, high wages (Keynesian compromise). Dominant 1940s–1970s.
• Post-Fordism: Flexible production. Just-in-Time (JIT) delivery reduces inventory costs. Small batch, customized production. Global supply chains. Weakened unions, precarious labor (gig economy). This shift explains the Rust Belt deindustrialization in the US/UK and the rise of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) / Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in the Global South (e.g., Shenzhen, Maquiladoras in Northern Mexico).

Agglomeration and High-Tech Corridors

Why does Silicon Valley exist? Agglomeration economies.

• Localization Economies: Benefits specific to an industry (e.g., specialized lawyers, venture capital, talent pool for tech).
• Urbanization Economies: Benefits from large city