What you will need for the exam: Pencil and or Pen, calculator

The midterm exam will consist of three types of 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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