What you will need for the exam:
Pencil and or Pen, calculator
The midterm exam will consist
of three types of questions.
-
Short answer questions
-
Problem questions
-
Essay questions
The short answer questions will
likely ask you to define and/or apply terms and concepts we have covered
in class. To review for this portion of the test you should study the
outlines posed on the web site and your notes and make sure you understand
the various terms we’ve used. Be sure to study terms that are especially
new to you.
Problem questions will likely
resemble the homework/in class exercises that I’ve given you. You should
know the equations you need. The best way to learn these is not necessarily
to just memorize them (though that will help) but to also understand
the logic behind them. I might also ask you to interpret a diagram
(Von Thunen, concentric zone, etc. ) like those found in the text or
that we highlighted in class.
The essay questions will either
ask you to explain a particular model or theory or explain an example
in terms of the concepts and theories we have discussed in class. The
key to getting a good grade on the essay questions is to answer the
question completely and fully. You should write an essay. This means
that your answer should include an argument and should have a basic
structure. The best essays will answer the question right away and
will then elaborate on the initial answer. The essay should be long
enough to adequately answer the question.
Sources for figuring out what
to study: At the end of each class outline on the website is a list
of concepts etc. that you were expected to understand before coming
to class. I’ve reproduced them below. I have not covered all of these
concepts in class, but my expectation is that you have done the reading
and have gained some understanding of them. The outlines themselves
also provide good clues about what to study. Sometimes I’ve introduced
concepts and theories not discussed in your text. Of course you can
also come see me for help with reviewing.
Finally, be aware that I may
ask you to apply some concepts or theories we’ve discussed in class
to interpret a situation that we have not discussed in class. The idea
behind this is that if you know the concepts and theories well you should
be able to successfully answer the question.
- Re-read pp. 158-164, Read
pp 164-169 ubiquitous raw materials, localized raw materials, raw
material costs, pure raw materials, weight- or bulk-losing raw materials
(gross raw materials), material index, perishable goods,
- Read pp. 169-173 scale and
technique considerations, substitution of capital for labor, Scale
economies, division of labor, vertical integration, diversification,
agglomeration economies, production linkages, service linkages,
marketing linkages, urbanization or industrial-complex economies,
adoptive and adaptive behavior, footloose industries.
- Read pp. 173-185 integration
or diversification, internal vs. external strategies for growth,
backward integration, forward integration, organizational structure,
functional orientation, product orientation, geographic orientation,
customer orientation, forces of production, social relations of
production, mode of production, surplus value, Kondratiev cycles,
the fifth wave?, geography of business cycles, the state and economic
geography.
- Read pp. 188-211 The three
agricultural revolutions (rise of agriculture, global agricultural
system, industrialization), Diffusion of agriculture, Plantations,
land degradation, shifting cultivation, permanent agriculture, factors
affecting rural land use, subsistence/peasant agriculture, pastoral
nomadism, intensive subsistence agriculture, agribusiness, vertical
integration, types of commercial agriculture.
- Read pp. 211-214 U.S. Agricultural
Policy, Inelastic demand, technological change, agriculture production
possibilities curve, agricultural price supports, Food-for-Peace
programs
- Read pp. 214-221 the Von
Thunen Model including the following concepts: law of diminishing
returns, extensive margin of cultivation, economic rent, location
rent, assumptions in model (Isolated State), bid rent, rent gradient,
the model and reality.
- Read pp.224-232 selection,
assembly, production, distribution, use value, value added by manufacturing,
uneven distribution of manufacturing.
- Read pp. 232-251 new international
division of labor, city to suburban shift, Rust belt to sun belt
shift, industrial restructuring, international shift, Fordism, Post-Fordism,
flexible manufacturing, JIT manufacturing, Business process reeingineering,
downsizing, product cycles, locational adjustment.
- Read pp. 260-271 tertiary
sector, service industries, service occupations, service functions,
producer services, FIRE, intangible output, externalization, transaction
costs.
- Read pp. 271-299 labor
intensity, contingent labor, feminization of poverty, financial
services, location of producer services, cross-border supply, consumption
abroad, commercial presence, flows of naturalized persons, outsourcing,
comparative advantage, competitive advantage, technological change
in services, back office, consumer services.
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