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A-Level Development and the Global Economy (Cluster 1)

how the global economy connects places, drives uneven development, and is shaped by trade, investment and labour flows, TNC production networks, and competing actors

What the syllabus expects

• Development levels differ across space between macro-regions, between countries inside a macro-region, and between different places within a single country
• Global flows of trade, capital and labour are spread unevenly across space and have shifted since the 1950s
• How the patterns of trade, capital and labour flows shape spatial variations in development levels
• How spatial variations in development levels in turn shape the global patterns of trade, capital and labour flows
• How shifts since the 1950s in global manufacturing, services and agriculture reshape a country's economy: some countries move toward manufacturing while agriculture's share falls, and more-developed countries shift toward services as their manufacturing competitiveness weakens
• Trade, capital and labour flows link places together
• These flows create interdependence between places within the global economy
• How the Global Production Networks of TNCs tie places together through flows of materials and capital: inputs are sourced, transformed, distributed and consumed across different places
• The economic, environmental and social effects, both positive and negative, that TNC production networks have on host and home economies
• States shape TNC operations through their role in regulating economic activity
• The degree to which states can influence how TNCs operate varies
• Labour characteristics affect where TNCs choose to locate
• Labour unions can exert influence on both TNCs and states
• TNCs and states also act on labour, with states regulating it and TNC decisions affecting workers
• Multilateral institutions influence TNCs and states, including ASEAN, the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank

More A-Level H2 Geography topics

Environment and Resources (Cluster 1) · Tropical Climates and Drainage Basins (Cluster 2) · Landforms in the Tropics (Cluster 2) · Cities in a Sustainable Future (Cluster 3) · The Future with Climate Change (Cluster 3) · Fieldwork (Cluster 4) · all of A-Level H2 Geography