Globalisation: flows, value capture and dependence
Trace production networks, explain unequal gains and evaluate responses at different geographical scales.
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A-level study: check your qualification and chosen options below.
Part 1 of 4
Map flows and control
Globalisation connects places through goods, capital, labour, information and institutions. A production network can disperse tasks while concentrating strategic decisions.
Distinguish material flows from ownership and decision-making power. Transport and communication technologies enable connections; policies and corporate choices shape them.
Worked example
A fictional product sells for £200; assembly adds £15 of value while design and retail account for other stages. The assembly country’s £200 gross export is not £200 of local value added.
Common mistake: Trade volume alone does not reveal who controls production.
Part 2 of 4
Analyse benefits and uneven outcomes
Investment can supply jobs, skills and infrastructure while exposing places to external demand and corporate relocation. Gains differ by industry, region and social group.
Evaluate working conditions, tax, environment and domestic supplier development alongside export growth. A national improvement may coexist with local exclusion.
Worked example
Fictional exports increase 40% while domestic value added increases 10%. The two results can coexist if imported inputs or externally captured value rise.
Common mistake: Rising exports do not establish rising household welfare for everyone.
Part 3 of 4
Evaluate attempts to shape globalisation
Trade agreements, labour standards, procurement and domestic training can alter opportunities and bargaining. Implementation and actors’ responses determine outcomes.
Evaluate effects at origin, destination and along the chain. A restriction may protect one group while increasing costs or shifting environmental pressure elsewhere.
Worked example
A fictional local-content policy raises domestic inputs from 20 to 30 units per 100-unit product: +10 percentage points. Check cost, quality and who receives the added income.
Common mistake: A policy target is not proof of compliance or benefit.
Percentage change · Source evaluation
Next: Value capture, employment and exposure to disruption →
Part 4 of 4
Value capture, employment and exposure to disruption
A production network distributes tasks, revenue and bargaining power across places. Export growth can support jobs while leaving a small share of the final sale price with producers. Value added, wages and profits are different measures; locate each within the chain.
Specialisation can create skills and infrastructure, but dependence on a buyer or transport corridor can expose a place to shocks. Diversification may reduce exposure while sacrificing economies of scale. A judgement should specify whose outcome matters and over what period.
Worked example
A fictional product sells for £100. Materials cost £25, assembly receives £10 and the remaining £65 covers other activities and margins. The assembler’s £10 receipt is not £10 of worker pay or profit. A 20% rise in assembly receipts to £12 does not show how the extra £2 is distributed.
Common mistake: Do not equate export revenue with income retained by local households.
Try a different resource
Gini coefficient
Use G = Σi Σj |xi − xj| ÷ (2n Σi xi), including both ordered pairs and zero self-differences. All incomes are non-negative. This is the uncorrected finite-population coefficient on a 0–1 scale; alternative small-sample corrections produce different values.
| Household | Income units per month |
|---|---|
| 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 12 |
| 4 | 16 |
| 5 | 32 |
Resource description
Five equally weighted fictional households
Write an explanation
Check your answer
- Trace actors, flows and value capture.
- Examine different groups and scales.
- Use evidence beyond gross exports.
- Judge dependency, upgrading and policy limitations.
Practise and review a written answer
Case studies
Viet Nam and global value chains · Borneo and Kalimantan: plantation expansion · Mining and development in Peru
These pages provide selected evidence. Check the whole case requirement with your teacher.
Read further
- www.aqa.org.uk — source or course reference
- www.aqa.org.uk — source or course reference
- qualifications.pearson.com — source or course reference
- www.worldbank.org — source or course reference
- www.ocr.org.uk — source or course reference
- www.eduqas.co.uk — source or course reference
Global value chains · Measuring development · Matching evidence to a claim
Course links
AQA A-level Geography · Pearson Edexcel A-level Geography · OCR A-level Geography · Eduqas A-level Geography
Next topics
Superpowers: influence, dependence and contested futures · Development: indicators, change and inequality
Selected teaching sequence with fictional worked data. The linked case records supply bounded evidence; they do not satisfy every course case requirement.