Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
requirements. Second,
production itself is also disaggregated
in the sense that most
goods are now composed of a series of specialised parts that may be produced in a
large number of locations, not simply because firms outsource their requirements
and drive down costs, but because they are less dependent on bulky raw materials.
This is a consequence of the development of the third feature, namely that
cheaper
and faster communication
enables easier raw materials and parts transfer, as well
as rapid access to markets, which may be in other parts of the world. This has al-
lowed the move of many productive activities to low cost locations where labour
is cheap, and even if initially unskilled, employees can work the machines that do
the routine production, instead of firms depending on inherited industrial skills.
A fourth feature has been a greater spatial flexibility in the
choice of locations
for
many manufacturing processes, for they are not so tied to raw material or skilled
labour sources. Fifth, the productive process is not now a simple matter of assem-
bling raw materials, or even specialised parts. More and more intervening activities
called
producer services
are required, from those that provide financial resources,
legal and banking facilities, designs, specialist technical skills not covered in-house,
to advertising, marketing and communication activities. Of course some of these
were present in the early industrial era, but as products became more complex, and
market areas have expanded, the size of sector has exploded. Few of these producer
services are located on the production sites. Sixth, the need for old industries to in-
novate to keep their market share, and the new phase of more rapidly developing
innovations creating new foods and services based on new technologies, means
a
new emphasis upon knowledge
has occurred. This confirms Marshall's opinion
(
1916
) that knowledge is the 'most powerful agent of production', although its im-
plications were not explored. The difference in the last 30 years has been that the
location of these knowledge-creating and innovative activities are not bound to the
old production sites as many were in the past; many they have their own locational
patterns and preferences.
11.4.2
Location of Knowledge Workers
It has not proved easy to precisely measure the numbers and locations of people
involved in the knowledge industries. These range from the scientific and tech-
nological activities in Research and Development (R&D), to those in innovative
health-care services, through producer services (such as finance, law, advertising,
market research), to media firms and various forms of information processing, as
well as those involved in organization and decision-making in corporate headquar-
ters, and people in higher education and cultural industries. The reason is that most
national statistical bodies collect and compile data on various industries, rather than
the functions carried out within firms or organizations, which include many jobs
that are routine and are essentially support services rather than true knowledge-
based activities that create innovations and new employment growth. Yet despite
the lack of precision in measuring knowledge-based activities, there seems little
doubt that the last half century has seen substantial increases in the numbers of
