Key Terms

📖 Key Terms

Deindustrialisation

The decline of manufacturing industry as a proportion of an economy's total employment and output. In the UK, heavy industries such as coal mining, shipbuilding, and steel production collapsed from the 1970s as factories closed due to competition from lower-wage countries and changing technology. Deindustrialisation is why the UK shifted from a manufacturing economy to a service economy.

Primary sector

Economic activity involving the extraction of natural resources: farming, fishing, mining, quarrying, forestry. Less than 2% of the UK workforce is employed in the primary sector today, compared to approximately 25% in 1900.

Secondary sector

Economic activity involving manufacturing and construction — taking raw materials and making them into finished goods. UK manufacturing employed around 8 million people in 1970; by 2020 this had fallen to approximately 2.5 million. Manufacturing now accounts for roughly 10% of UK GDP.

Tertiary sector

Economic activity providing services rather than goods — banking, retail, healthcare, education, hospitality, law. The tertiary sector now accounts for approximately 80% of UK GDP and employs around 85% of the UK workforce, making it the dominant sector of the post-industrial economy.

Quaternary sector

The most knowledge-intensive part of the economy: research and development, technology, data analysis, biotechnology, software. Quaternary jobs are typically the highest paid and require the most specialist education. Cambridge Science Park is a classic example of quaternary-sector employment.

Post-industrial economy

An economy where manufacturing is no longer the dominant sector — replaced by services and knowledge-based industries. The UK is a post-industrial economy: manufacturing has fallen below 10% of GDP. The transition from industrial to post-industrial is called deindustrialisation.

North-South divide

The persistent inequality between the wealthier, better-connected South East of England (especially London) and the less economically developed regions of northern England, the Midlands, Wales, and parts of Scotland. Caused by the uneven impact of deindustrialisation and the concentration of financial services in London. GDP per capita in London is approximately £57,000; in Northeast England it is approximately £23,000.

Regeneration

The process of improving an area that has experienced economic or social decline through investment in new buildings, infrastructure, businesses, and housing. Salford Quays is a regeneration of former Manchester docklands — derelict since 1982, now home to MediaCityUK and 7,000+ jobs.

Gentrification

A process of urban change in which an area becomes wealthier and more expensive, often displacing lower-income residents who can no longer afford to live there. Gentrification can occur as a side effect of regeneration — as happened in parts of London Docklands and, to a lesser extent, around Salford Quays.

Transnational corporation (TNC)

A large company that operates in more than one country, typically with headquarters in one country and production, research, or service facilities in others. TNCs like Nissan, Toyota, Amazon, and Google have major presences in the UK, providing employment but also raising questions about the long-term security of UK-based operations if economic conditions change.

Levelling Up

A UK government policy agenda (from approximately 2019 onwards) aiming to direct investment, infrastructure, and public spending toward deprived regions of the North and Midlands to reduce the North-South divide. Results have been mixed — some regeneration funding was distributed, but the scale of investment was insufficient to significantly close structural regional inequality.