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agribusiness

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a *large company* that owns the land and hires individuals to cultivate crops or raise livestock. Also includes other aspects such as *fertilizers*, *seeds*, *equipment companies* Examples: *Pioneer Seeds*, *John Deere*, *Case-International Harvester*

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arable

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conducive to farming. *Agronomy* (science of soil), *aridity* (dry) *line* vs. *thermal* (cold) *deficit line*. Some areas are *animal-centered (livestock)*, while others are *plant-centered (crops)*

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artisans

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craftspeople who manufactured their own products and were involved in profit-seeking, but their costs were more bound to the expense of materials and labor.

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capitalism

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the buying or selling of various goods in order to create profit, driven by the pursuit of profit. *Merchants and Artisans*

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capitalist commercial economy

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an economic system primarily concerned with the buying and selling of *commodities*, or a product that can be exchanged for profit. *1st stage*

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capitalist industrial economic system

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the creation of *finished products* from *raw materials*, first by artisans and later by *mass production*, that paved the way for a truly *global capitalist economy*. *2nd stage; Industrial Revolution and Industrial Activity*

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carrying capacity

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the number of people an area can support given the technology.

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commercial agriculture

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crops and livestock that are farmed for *cash* and are considered *commodities*, intended to be exchanged for payment; more likely to *focus on one or two items* in order to gain a maximum return on investment

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commodities

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products that can be exchanged for profit

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comparative advantage

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dictates that a specific region does a better job of producing something than another region does. *Ability* of an individual or group to carry out a *particular economic activity* (such as making a particular product) *more efficiently* than another activity.

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crop complexes

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distinct crops grown in certain areas, which became the basis of *regional cuisines*

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economic activity

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interaction in which a good or service is *extracted*, *produced*, *consumed*, or *exchanged* and can be found in nearly everything that people need to live. *Economic Determinism*

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economy

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the extraction, production, consumption, and exchange of *goods and services*.

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ecotone

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a place where there existed two or more separate environments, which allowed for greater variety of foodstuffs at different times of the year and was most likely where agriculture began.

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feudalism

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a small-scale economic system based on self-contained *estates*, controlled by a *lord or master*.

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Green Revolution

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an attempt to import Western agricultureal practices to subsistence farms in *Asia, Latin America, and Africa* between the 1950s and 1960s

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gross domestic product (GPD)

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the total of all goods and services produced within a country

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gross national income (GNI)

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similar to GNP, except it does not include the costs of indirect taxes, depreciation, and subsidies.

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gross national product (GNP)

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the total of goods and services produced by the citizens of a country, whether the actual production takes place inside or outside a country's boundaries.

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hunting and gathering

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a feature of prehistoric human life, the combination of killing animals and finding edible plant life for food, which required *teamwork*, effective *communication*, and *weapon construction*.

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imperial economies

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systems marked by the redistribution of surplus from peasants to large landholders, but with the imperial *bureaucracy* taking a substantial cut. *Diverse and complex*

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irrigation

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the process of directing water from nearby water sources to cropland. Early technologies required that a community work together through directing, digging, and construction.

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land rent

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the *profitability* of a particular piece of land, dependent on *soil quality, climate, terrain*, and *cultural factors*.

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merchants

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buyers of large quantities of products, who then ship, store, and/or trade the product; a necessary component of capitalism, especially in the early stages.

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mixed agricultural economy

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a system that involves a *heavy reliance* on both *plants and animals* for food, materials, and goods.

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mixed economies

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economies in which the government controls certain economic activities it considers key or appropriate to the public trust while leaving others in the hands of the private sector. *Free public education & health care, government regulates* certain activities. Examples: *Canada* and *Most of the Developed World*

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occupational specialization

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nonagricultural workers became involved in different types of trades and tasks, from *metal workers to tanners to scribes*; a hallmark of early *cities* and *civilization*.

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pastoral nomadism

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a culture that locates in areas too harsh for crops and that moves seasonally with their *animals* to locate the available water. Example: *Bedouins of North Africa*

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planned economies

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economies that emerged as a response to unrestricted capitalist economies and often in response to what were perceived as some of the inequities embedded in a capitalist system. *An Alternative to Capitalism* *All farms, factories, and services (banks) are publicly owned and decisions are controlled by the state government.* *State socialism* Examples: *USSR* and *Maoist China*

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primary sector

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activities involving the extraction of raw materials, the gathering of plants and animals, and the domestication of plants or animals

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primitive agriculture

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the gradual transition to agriculture, occurring in different parts of the world beginning about 9000BC. Some early agricultural groups were nomadic and some involved shifting cultivation; most early agriculturalists settled into more permanent settlements (surpluses bartered). *Irrigation* (wheat, bread, beer)

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private sector

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in a capitalist society, all the factories, firms, and offices responsible for producing goods and providing services that are not run by the state; includes all of the output produced by individuals working for themselves and privately owned business Example: *Fortune 500 companies*

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profit

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the positive difference between how much revenue is made by selling a product and how much it costs to buy or make a product.

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public sector

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in a capitalist society, state-run functions, including external relations, a system of adjudication or arbitration, and tax collection; includes all of the output produced by government at all levels. Has *11% of the US's GDP*

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quaternary sector

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services that rely on information gathering and sharing. These include information technology services, research and development, consulting services, and other similar activities.

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recession

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the situation that occurs when measures of the economy decline, often for a sustained period of time, such as half a year. Example: *2008 US's Economic _______*

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secondary sector

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activities that add value to raw materials through some form of manufacturing, processing, or construction.

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subsistence agriculture

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nearly all the crops and livestock are used to support the farmer, the farmer's family, and perhaps a large group within a clan or village. *Survival*

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tertiary sector

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activities that provide services. This category includes everything from store clerks to auto mechanics to lawyers and doctors.

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The Great Columbian Exchange

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the global exchange of crops that occurred after 1492, including the transport of European crops, such as wheat, melons, and grapes, by Christopher Columbus to the island of Hispaniola.

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theory of rural land use

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the theory, developed by *Johann von Thunen* and published in 1826, that determines which crop to cultivate based on an equation that takes into account *land rent, output, price, production costs, transportation costs*, and *distance from market*.

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economic system

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way in which humans in a society organize themselves in regard to their economic activity. *Determines almost everything else* in a society, including the *political system* and *social relations*.

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Neolithic Period

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Also known as the *New Stone Age*, this is the period that saw the arrival of the *Agricultural Revolution*

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Earliest economic systems

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marked by a reliance on *subsistence (survival) food gathering or farming*, most activities took place in *small groups, small-scale production*, and an extensive use of *bartering (trade)*.

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depression

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severe economic downturn for a longer period of time than a recession. It is marked by unemployment, unsold goods, and many business closings. Example: *1930s US Great _____________*

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primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary

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List the other economic sectors Write as such: ________, ____________, _________, ____________

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agriculture

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What was the *watershed (critical) moment* in the saga of the *human race*, which contributed to the transition from *prehistory to history*. There are 2 theories concerning why humans adopted this. This term also began in different parts of the world at different times in history. *Independent and Regional* and *Does spread* in some areas

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Theory #1

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*Domestication* started in well-watered fertile areas where pieces of plants could easily be buried to make grow new plants. *Carl Sauer, vegeculture*

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Theory #2

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A time of *environmental stress*, perhaps global warming, led humans to search for new food sources because areas had reached their *carrying capacity*. *V. Gordon Childe*

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Crop origins

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--Wheat (Middle East) --Rice (China) --Corn/Maize (Mexico) --Potato/tomato (Peru) --Millet and Sorghum (Sub-Saharan Africa)

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comparative advantage

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leads to *regional differences in agricultural products* because of *better environments*, the *skill of local farmers*, and *proximity to local markets*

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Theory of Rural Land use equation

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land rent = (output x (price-production costs)) - (output x transport costs x distance from market)

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corn, potato, pumpkin, tobacco, tomato

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Products transferred from the Americas to Europe and Africa (occurred during Columbian Exchange)

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cattle, chicken, coffee, horses, sugar cane, wheat

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Products transferred from Europe and Africa to the Americas (occurred during Columbian Exchange)

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economic determinism

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the doctrine that all social, cultural, political, and intellectual forms are determined by or result from such economic factors as the quality of natural resources, productive capability, technological development, or the distribution of wealth.

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vegeculture

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crops are grown by breaking off a part of the plant and burying it in the ground

Agribusiness: Big Business in Arable Lands

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