2. Definition:
According to Raich: “economic activity is the production,
distribution and consumption of commodities”.
This definition was criticized and rephrased bt O’Connor: “any
economic activity involving the production, distribution and
consumption of commodities depending on the level of
generality”.
3. Location of economic activities:
The economic activities are not located in a void. They occupy space. It is
desirable to locate the activity at the most suitable place. The least-cost
location , place where the cost of collection and distribution of goods and raw
materials etc. is least. Every economic activity enjoys two locations:
Specific location
Relative location
The specific location is the exact place or the site where the activity is located.
The relative location refers to the position of the economic activity in relation
to other connected features. The specific location of the main cotton
growing region of Punjab is in the Tech and Rachna Doabs. This region is
related vertically with fertile alluvial plains, good irrigation facilities and
high temperature during growing season. In terms of relative location, it is
close to the cotton mills of Faisalabad.
4. Inter-relation of economic activities:
The economic activities do not operate in isolation. They are inter-related
with one another and with physical and cultural environment.
The sugar mill sits usually in the midst of sugarcane field. Chip board
factory is located near a sugar mill. The wholesale center tries to be close
to the retail market. The transport repair workshops go together with the
transport terminal. The petrol stations are located on roads with vehicular
traffic.
On the other hand, rice cultivation is not found in regions of little rainfall
and with no irrigation facilities.
5. Classification of economic activities:
In terms of the national economy, a basic classification of
economic activities is following:
Primary economic activities
Secondary economic activities
Tertiary economic activities
Quaternary economic activities
Quinary economic activities
6. Primary activities(raw materials):
Primary activities are those which relate to the cultivation of the land and the
extraction of minerals and fuels from the rocks. They are at the beginning of
production cycle, where humans are in closest contact with the resources and
potentialities of the environment. Primary activities include age-old activities, such
as hunting animals and gathering wild berries and nuts, grazing, extracting
minerals from theearth’s crust, fishing from rivers, lakes and oceans; and the
harvesting of trees.
Primary producers might be labeled as red-collar workers due to the outdoor
nature of their work.
7. Secondary activities(manufacturing and
industry):
These include all forms of manufacturing and processing of raw materials.
Secondary activity increases the value of a previously existing item by changing its
form. Such activities include manufacturing and commercial agriculture.
Steel makers turn iron into a more durable metal in blast furnaces and steel mills.
Lumber mills process products of primary activities logs, processing them into
boards, plywood, or prefabricated houses by a secondary activity that increases their
value by altering their form.
This group is known as the blue-collar labor force.
8. Tertiary activities(service industry):
Tertiary activities consist of those business and labor
specializations that provide services to the primary and
secondary sectors, to the general community, and to the
individual. These include financial, business, professional,
clerical and personal services.
Services of various kinds like education, health, banking,
insurance, trade and transport are included in this sector. In
advanced countries, the contribution of tertiary sector to
national income is highest.
This group is categorized as pink-collar workers.
9. Quaternary activities(Knowledge sector):
In economically advanced societies many individuals and
some entire organizations are engaged in the processing and
dissemination of information and in the administration and
control of their own or other enterprises.
It typically includes services such as information technology,
information generation and sharing, media, research and
development as well as knowledge based services like
consultation, education, financial planning, blogging and
designing.
This group is categorized as white-collar workers.
10. Quinary activities(decision making
sector):
Quinary activities are distinguished to recognize high level decision making roles
in all types of large organizations, public and private. The most visible persons in
this group include chief executive officers and other top management executives
in both government and private sectors / service.
Research scientists, legal authorities, financial advisors, and professional
consultants who provide strategic planning and problem-solving services belong
to this cluster. Most of these high-order analytical and managerial activities occur
in large urban centers or in close proximity to large university, medical, and/or
research centers.
An appropriate label for this group is the gold-collar worker.
