UNIT 7 APHG Review

Which of the following best describes Alfred Weber’s analysis of location decisions?

• It seeks to evaluate the impact of a single factor of production on location.
• It seeks to minimize costs among multiple inputs of production.
• It is applicable only in postindustrial economies with predictable spatial patterns.
• It depends on the availability of a single node, link, and input of production.
• It is applicable only in industrial economies with predictable spatial patterns.

Core-periphery models are generally based on the idea that

• all world regions are equally well developed
• levels of social and economic development are fairly uniform between core areas and peripheral areas
• sharp spatial contrasts in social and economic development exist between economic heart­lands and outlying subordinate areas
• the growth and prosperity of core countries has not been achieved at the expense of peripheral countries
• the economic and social heart of a territory should be at its geographic center

Which of the following best explains a benefit of membership in the European Union?

• Member states are eligible to receive loans from the European Union, which protects states against recession.
• Member states receive equal numbers of international migrants, which ensures even distribution of resources.
• Member states receive annual payments from the European Union, which boosts gross national income.
• Member states have more secure borders, which guards against conflict.
• Member states form a single market, which creates a powerful economic bloc.

The port of Los Angeles is the busiest port in the United States and a major break-of-bulk point. Which of the following statements correctly explains why Los Angeles is a break-of-bulk point?

• The robotic systems at the port results in fewer workers being required to unload container ships.
• The port can accommodate large container ships that can be unloaded quickly so that containers can be transferred onto carriers that use California’s highway and rail systems.
• The massive warehouses located at the port allow goods from container ships to be stored easily for long periods of time.
• Goods can be transferred to other container ships going to the port of San Francisco.
• Los Angeles is on the Pacific Ocean allowing for more trade with countries in Asia.

The high-tech firms of Silicon Valley in California are clustered together to take  advantage of

• cheap labor
• economies of scale
• access to markets
• agglomeration effects
• high-speed transportation

A clustering of doctor’s offices and pharmacies near hospitals is BEST explained by the benefits of

• decentralization
• agglomeration
• intervening opportunity
• balkanization
• enfranchisement

Often a manufacturing company will attempt to merge with another company that possesses forward or backward links in the supply or production process. Which of the following terms best describes this type of strategy?

• Vertical integration
• Transnational corporation
• Privatization
• Agglomeration
• Economies of scale

Even though it is a relatively clean source of energy, which of the following is a disadvantage of hydroelectric power?

• The water used needs to be chemically treated immediately upon leaving the powerhouse.
• The electricity generated has a lower voltage than electricity generated by traditional coal and natural gas plants.
• The generators are more complex than coal or gas generators and are expensive to purchase and maintain.
• It is not an effective power source in regions which traditionally experience less rainfall.
• It can alter the ecosystems above and below the dam site.

Which of the following concepts explains the decision to relocate market-oriented factories in the United States from the Midwest and Northeast to locations in the southern United States or Mexico?

• Comparative advantage, because products can be made more efficiently in the southern United States and Mexico. Operating costs and wages are lower, and the manufactured products are easily transported to major United States markets.
• Growth poles, because governments in southern United States cities and Mexico strive to stimulate economic development by providing a guaranteed market for all products manufactured at these locations.
• Just-in-time delivery, because the United States population is shifting to the south and west, and the Mexican population is growing. It is critical to produce goods closer to the consumer base to reduce shipping times.
• Complementarity, because the regional economy of the midwestern and northeastern United States is shifting to the service sector. There is little interest in maintaining manufacturing at these locations.
• Post-Fordist production, because traditional midwestern and northeastern manufacturing centers in the United States are unable to keep up with the technological changes of modern industry.

Contemporary manufacturing is characterized by

• production facilities that are generally located as close as possible to the sites of raw material production
• strong unions and localized involvement in all facets of the production process
• spatial disaggregation of the production process
• reliance on highly skilled labor at all phases of the production process
• production facilities located close to railroads