Factors of location of industrial production Table 2. Factors of location of individual industries

The concept of "location factors" was introduced into scientific circulation by the German economist Alfred Weber (1909). Placement factors are considered to be a set of conditions for the most rational choice of the location of an economic object, a group of objects, an industry. The spatial orientation of industries and industries is formed under the combined influence of various factors and is distinguished by a wide variety of options for locating individual enterprises. All the variety of factors influencing the location of production are combined into related groups. For example, natural factors, including economic evaluation natural conditions and resources for the development of individual industries and regions; economic factors, including measures for the protection of nature and its rational use of natural resources; demographic factors, which are understood as settlement systems, the provision of individual territories of the country with labor resources. The state of social infrastructure should also be attributed to important factors affecting the location of production. An important factor in the location of production is the scientific and technological revolution.

In the location of enterprises and institutions related to the service sector, the consumer factor is of paramount importance. To accommodate agriculture and extractive industries big influence provided by the natural conditions and resources of the territory.

The most difficult is the choice of the location option for enterprises in the manufacturing industry, since all location factors act simultaneously and collectively. With a variety of location factors affecting the location of manufacturing enterprises, it is of fundamental importance to divide them into natural (which determine the dependence of the geography of industry on natural conditions and resources) and socio-economic (which are based on the laws of social development).

Natural resource factors and conditions (gravitation towards sources of raw materials - raw materials, fuel and energy - fuel, fuel and energy; climatic, hydrological orographic conditions) - their impact on the location of the economy is the stronger, the lower the level of development of productive forces. In the early stages of industrialization, the geography of mineral resources largely determined the location of heavy industry (metallurgy, mechanical engineering, and the chemical industry), which was especially drawn to the coal and iron ore basins.

In modern economic and economic-geographical literature, manufacturing industries, depending on the different orientation to one or another factor, are usually classified according to location factors. Thus, manufacturing industries are distinguished:

  • 1 - raw material orientation,
  • 2 - fuel orientation,
  • 3 - energy and fuel and energy orientation,
  • 4 - water consumer orientation,
  • 5 - consumer orientation,
  • 6 - orientation towards labor resources, including highly qualified personnel.

The weak point of this classification of manufacturing industries is that it is based on only one prevailing factor. When placing enterprises in many industries, as a rule, not one, but two or more factors are of significant importance.

The comparative value of individual factors depends on the technical, economic and technological specifics of production. Those factors that in some industries come to the fore, in others turn out to be secondary. If for non-ferrous metallurgy (except for the production of light metals) the raw material factor plays a decisive role, then in ferrous metallurgy it shares its influence with the fuel factor. When locating enterprises of mechanical engineering and light industry, it is necessary to take into account, first of all, the factors of consumption and work force.

Moreover, the same factor within a given industry, but on different stages technological process operates with unequal intensity.

For manufacturing industries, there is a system of technical and economic indicators that determine their placement. Among them:

  • 1. Specific costs of the main types of raw materials, fuel, heat and electrical energy, water per unit finished products(the amount of raw materials, energy, water and other things required for the production of 1 unit, for example 1 ton, of products);
  • 2. Exit industrial waste per unit of production and their characteristics;
  • 3. Labor costs per unit of output;
  • 4. Specific costs of fixed assets.

The choice of options for locating an industrial enterprise is directly influenced by the ratio of the most important technical and economic indicators of production - from material consumption, labor intensity and capital intensity, as well as taking into account the consumer factor.

The material intensity of the industry is determined by the specific consumption of raw materials and basic materials for the production of products. In many industries, it significantly exceeds the weight of finished products.

An additional sign of the material intensity of production can be the share of raw material costs in the cost of industrial products. However, this indicator is rather conditional: its value depends on how expensive or cheap the raw materials used are.

According to the degree of material consumption of production, they distinguish following groups industries:

  • 1) highly material-intensive with a specific consumption of raw materials much more than one;
  • 2) average material consumption, where the specific consumption of raw materials is greater than or equal to one;
  • 3) non-material-intensive with a specific consumption of raw materials less than one.

Highly material-intensive industries have a pronounced raw material orientation, that is, their location is greatly influenced by the raw material factor. One should also take into account the large-tonnage volume of products of such industries, which leads to very high costs for their transportation to the consumer.

Based on the degree of energy intensity of production, there are three groups of industries:

  • 1) high-energy-intensive, where the share of fuel and energy costs is 30-45% (significantly exceeding the costs of raw materials and materials), specific fuel and energy costs are maximum;
  • 2) medium or low energy-intensive, in which the share of fuel and energy costs is only 15-25%, while the specific fuel and energy costs are low;
  • 3) non-energy intensive, where fuel and energy costs are less than 6%, and the specific fuel and energy costs are minimal.

The fuel and energy factor is one of the most important factors in the location of many industries. High-energy-intensive industries are oriented towards mass and efficient fuel and energy resources. Sectors of medium energy intensity also react to the fuel and energy factor, although its influence in this case does not determine the specifics of the location of production. A particularly large amount of fuel and energy is consumed by such industries as the production of ferroalloys, aluminum, magnesium, nickel, lead, electrolytic copper, synthetic ammonia, synthetic fibers, rubber, hydrolysis yeast

Of the group of natural factors, a great influence on the location of production has water factor. This is due to the increase in the capacity of enterprises and overall growth water consumption of production, associated primarily with the development of the chemical industry, where water is not only an auxiliary material, but also one of the important types of raw materials. The main criterion for water consumption is the consumption of fresh water per unit of finished product. Industry is considered to be a particularly large consumer of water; it consumes up to 40% of all water consumed by the economy.

The labor intensity of individual branches of industry can be judged by the expenditure of labor per unit of output, by the number of workers for a certain quantity of output, by the quantity of output per worker. An indicator of labor intensity is also such an indicator as the share wages in the cost of industrial production.

Typical labor-intensive industries that focus on the places where the labor force is concentrated are engineering (with the exception of metal-intensive industries), light industry (except primary processing agricultural raw materials) and upper floors chemical industry (production of rubber products, plastics, chemical fibers, etc.). The labor factor is important literally for all branches of industry, but its influence on location decreases as the labor intensity of production decreases, which is especially characteristic of the age of scientific and technological revolution.

Consumer factor in case of territorial disunity natural resources and the population acts in the opposite direction to raw materials and fuel and energy factors. Those industries that are usually engaged in servicing the population (production of fabrics, clothing, footwear, food products) or produce low-transportable products (compared to raw materials and fuel) tend to gravitate towards areas and centers of consumption. The role of the consumer factor is often enhanced by the labor force factor, since the places where the population is concentrated simultaneously act not only as sources of labor resources, but also as large areas consumption of industrial products.

As for the transport factor, it plays the role of a kind of focus, as if gathering the influence of other factors in the location of production. Determining the intensity of its influence, it is necessary to take into account the cost of raw materials (including auxiliary materials) and fuel per unit of output. If they exceed the weight of finished products, then it is advantageous to place industrial enterprises near raw materials and fuel and energy bases, since this leads to a reduction in the volume of transport work. On the contrary, in those cases where the cost of raw materials and fuel is less than the weight of the finished product (for example, in the production of sulfuric acid, simple superphosphate, bread, pasta), the reduction in transportation is achieved through consumer orientation of enterprises. Finally, with an equal weight ratio of raw materials (as well as fuel) and finished products, production has the greatest freedom of location, gravitating to the extent of economic expediency either to raw materials and fuel and energy resources, or to areas of consumption or places of labor concentration.

The same industries and industries have different options for spatial orientation depending on the nature of the feedstock and the degree of its transportability (for example, the production of sulfuric acid from natural raw materials and waste from metallurgy and oil refining); the nature of the feedstock and the technological methods of its processing (for example, the production of nitrogen fertilizers by gasification of coal or coke, deep cooling of coke oven gas, conversion natural gas and other); the comparative efficiency of transporting raw materials or fuel and finished products (for example, electricity generation at thermal power plants).

The principles of the location of industry are the initial scientific provisions that guide the state in its economic policy in the area of ​​planned distribution of productive forces.

The most important principle of the location of industry is the approximation of industrial production to sources of raw materials, to areas of consumption, provided that the necessary products are produced with minimal outlays of social labor.

Industry placement principles:

Bringing industrial production closer to sources of raw materials, to areas of consumption, provided that the necessary products are produced with minimal outlays of social labor.

Uniform distribution of industrial production throughout the country on the basis of industrial specialization and the use of all natural resources and labor resources.

Rational territorial division of labor with the aim of the most effective specialization of individual economic regions by industry and the creation of territorial production complexes.

International division of labor based economic integration.

economy industry transitional

Factors affecting the location of industries

· a group of natural and climatic factors: raw material factor, geographic environment, labor resources, consumption density.

· a group of technical and economic factors: scientific and technological progress, complex mechanization and automation, chemicalization progress, concentration of production, specialization of production, detailed specialization, technological specialization, cooperation, combination.

· A group of economic and political factors is manifested in the alignment of the levels of economic development of regions in the interregional and international division of labor.

The economic efficiency of locating new enterprises is determined on the basis of a national economic assessment of interacting factors, which takes into account the costs and labor savings in all sectors directly related to the construction and operation of the industrial facility being located.

Ensuring rapid rates of expanded reproduction and growth in the productivity of social labor requires a broad expansion of industrial production throughout the country, an ever more even distribution of industry.

The uniform distribution of industrial production throughout the country on the basis of specialization of industry and the use of all natural resources and labor resources should be considered as one of the fundamental principles location of industry. The uniform distribution of industry is a qualitative feature of the development of this important branch of the national economy.

Bringing industry closer to sources of raw materials and a more uniform distribution of production throughout the country makes it possible to avoid excessively long-distance transportation of raw materials, "fuel, materials and finished products to their places of consumption. Transportation over long distances causes transport costs, which greatly increase the cost of production ~ efficiency of industrial production.

Thus, during rail transportation of Kansk-Achinsk coal over a distance of 300-350 km, their cost doubles, and when transported over a distance of 1000 or 2000 km, their cost at consumption points is 4 and 7 times higher, respectively, than at the place of production.

The ever more even distribution of industry throughout the country, however, does not mean that all branches of industry should develop in all economic regions. Some sectors gravitate towards areas where minerals occur, others towards sources of agricultural raw materials, still others towards areas of consumption, and so on. The task of locating these industries is to develop them in areas that have the necessary economic and natural prerequisites.

The essence of the territorial division of labor lies in the purposeful planned formation of the economy of all economic regions of the country on the basis of the systematic distribution of material production, constantly improving sectoral specialization, rationalization of production and social infrastructure, rationalization of inter-industry, inter-district and intra-district production relations.

The basis for the development of the economy of the economic regions of our country is industry. The creation in each region of a complex of industries that are clearly specialized in accordance with the natural and economic characteristics of this region, and that most fully satisfy national and intra-regional needs, is the most important constituent element the entire integrated development of the economy of the regions and plays a leading role in this development.

The integrated development of regions, combined with the elimination of irrational transportation of raw materials and finished products, ensures the leveling of the levels of economic development in all regions of the country.

The principle of location of production is the international division of labor based on economic integration. With the development of the world economic system, this principle becomes increasingly greater value in the distribution of industry both throughout the system and in each of its constituent countries. The division of labor ensures the most rational development of the economy of each country and specialization individual states on those branches of industry for which they have the most favorable natural, economic and social conditions.

Participation in the international division of labor is reflected in the levels of development of individual industries and their distribution within the country, because. location of any industry depends on the scale of its development and specialization. It also affects economic development and industrial specialization of certain regions, for the construction of new transport communications - special oil and gas pipelines, power lines, for the expansion of the corresponding railways, ports, etc. All this is reflected in the development of individual production-territorial complexes, especially individual industrial and transport hubs.

Along with the economic principles outlined above, in the practice of locating certain branches of industry, other circumstances are also taken into account, which are of a historically transitory nature, but which are of great social, political, or defense significance.

The impact of these principles on the specific process of industrial location is carried out through a number of factors that can be divided into three main groups: natural-economic, technical-economic and economic-political. Provision of districts acts as an independent factor of placement vehicles and their technical level.

The group of natural and economic factors includes the raw material factor, geographical environment, labor resources, consumption density.

natural basis development and location of industry in Russia form the resources mineral raw materials and fuel, water, fish and other resources of animal and plant origin. Accounting for the raw material factor requires a deep study of the reserves, quality and economics of the use of raw materials, fuel and energy resources in each region. According to the nature of the influence of the raw factor, all industries are divided into mining and manufacturing. The nature of the occurrence of minerals, the quantity and physico-chemical properties and methods of extraction affect the size of mining enterprises, the forms of organization of production, and ultimately determine the economic efficiency of the extractive industries.

The volume of production of individual mining enterprises, labor productivity, specific capital investments and production costs largely depend on the depth of mineral deposits. For example, the average depth of development of coal deposits is: in Donbass - 558 m, Kuzbass - 262 m, Karaganda basin - 384 m and Ekibazstuz - 90 m, etc. If the thickness of coal seams in the Donets Basin, as a rule, does not exceed 2.5 m, then in the Kuznetsk Basin it reaches 25 m, Kansk-Achinsk and Ekibastuz - 70-100 m. 18 times higher, and the cost of 1 ton of coal is 12 times lower.

In contrast to the mining industry, the influence of the raw material factor on the location of the manufacturing industry depends on the role of objects of labor in the economy of each industry, as well as on the consumer properties of products.

For example, high material-intensive industries, where the specific consumption of raw materials is much more than one (in the sugar industry - 5-7 tons, in the hydrolysis industry - 5.3-7.6, in the smelting of copper from concentrates - 7.5, etc.), have a pronounced raw material orientation.

High-energy-intensive industries are oriented towards massive and efficient fuel and energy resources.

Significant adjustments in the influence of the raw material factor on the location of manufacturing industries are made by the properties of the products produced. They mainly determine its economic and technological transportability.

All for the location of industrial production greater influence starts to have water resources. This is due to an increase in the capacity of enterprises and a general increase in the water intensity of production associated with the development of the metallurgical, pulp and paper and, especially, chemical industries, where water serves not only as an auxiliary material, but also as one of the important raw materials.

The geographic environment has a significant impact on the location of industry, i.e. climatic conditions, hydrological regime of rivers, relief of the territory. Climatic conditions affect placement industrial enterprises in connection with the unequal working conditions and human life in different areas.

In areas with unfavorable climatic conditions there will be higher costs for the reproduction of the labor force, capital investments in the construction of enterprises and the costs of their operation.

The location of industry is greatly influenced by the distribution of labor resources throughout the country and the density of consumption. The labor factor is important for literally all industries, but its influence is reduced as the labor intensity of production decreases. The greater the labor intensity of production and the share of wages in the cost of production, the stronger the dependence of the location of production on the geography of labor resources and vice versa. At the same time, the structure and qualification composition of labor resources in certain regions of the country should be taken into account.

The technical and economic factors of industrial location are represented by scientific and technological progress and rational forms of production organization.

The location of industrial production is greatly influenced by scientific and technological progress, especially such areas as electrification, complex mechanization and automation, chemicalization and improvement of technological processes. Scientific and technological progress makes it possible to deploy productive forces throughout the country, regardless of natural and climatic features districts. The widespread development of electrification, the creation of a unified energy system of Russia and the transmission of electricity over long distances made it possible to involve in the national economic circulation the resources of regions that are deprived of fuel and hydropower reserves. Developing in areas that have sources of cheap fuel and hydropower resources, the electric power industry has an impact on the location in these areas of power-intensive industries that work mainly on imported raw materials.

Integrated mechanization and automation have a great impact on the location of labour-intensive industries. They allow you to organize production in areas that do not have a sufficient population, but have natural resources and conditions that make it possible to obtain cheap products.

In close connection with scientific and technological progress is public organization production, which appears in such forms as concentration, specialization, cooperation and combination.

The concentration of production has an impact on location, primarily due to the need for large enterprises to have powerful raw materials and fuel and energy bases. Along with the enlargement of the size of enterprises, the circle of suppliers of the means of production necessary for them and consumers of the products they produce is expanding. For large enterprises, it becomes much more difficult to choose their locations and industrial sites, measures to create infrastructure, etc. The importance of the transport factor increases when justifying the placement of industrial construction, because the economic benefits large enterprise may disappear as a result of rising costs for the transportation of raw materials, fuel and finished products.

The specialization of production, depending on its types, renders different influence for the placement of industry. Thus, subject specialization in a certain way localizes industrial enterprises.

Combination plays an important role in the location of industry. Combination is a production-technological and technological connection aimed at the production of several products from one type of raw material. When combined, many types of waste become a valuable raw material for various industries, which makes it possible to locate various industries in areas where there are no natural raw materials for the latter.

Consistent implementation of the concepts of distribution of productive forces made it possible to radically change the distribution of industry in the republics and regions of the country. This contributed to the systematic overcoming of economic and cultural backwardness. national republics and regions and pulling them up economically to the level of the most developed regions.

Certain impact on placement various industries industry provides transport. For example, in the ferrous metallurgy, cement, brick and other industries, where the share of transport costs is 35-50% of the cost of their products to the consumer, transport is of decisive importance. The possibility of reducing transportation costs plays an important role in improving the economic efficiency of the territorial organization of these industries.

In superphosphate, meat, pulp and paper and some other industries, the share of transport costs is 10-25%. Here, this factor has a significant, but not decisive role in machine-building, textile, leather and footwear, etc. industries, the share of transport costs is 3-5%, and here this factor does not play a significant role. However, even for these industries, the reduction of transport costs, which reach significant sizes, is of no small importance.

Determining the intensity of the impact of production, it is necessary to take into account, first of all, the costs of raw materials, materials, fuel per unit of output. If they exceed the weight of finished products, then it is advantageous to place industrial enterprises near raw materials and fuel and energy bases, since this leads to a reduction in the volume of transport work. In cases where the cost of raw materials and fuel is less than the weight of the finished product, the reduction in transportation is achieved through the consumer orientation of enterprises. With an equal weight ratio of raw materials (as well as fuel) and finished products, production has the greatest freedom of location, gravitating to the extent of economic expediency either to raw materials and fuel and energy resources, or to areas of consumption or places of labor concentration.

The location of production (industry, agriculture, transport, etc.) on the territory of individual countries, regions and the whole world does not occur by chance, but under the influence of certain conditions. Those conditions that have a decisive influence on the choice of a place for the development of certain sectors of the economy or individual enterprises are called production location factors.

Depending on the qualitative characteristics and the origin of factors, the following main types are distinguished: raw materials, fuel, energy. labor, consumer, transport, environmental. As a rule, the location of specific industries is influenced not by one, but by several factors at the same time. Thus, many enterprises of the chemical industry are located taking into account energy and environmental factors. The influence of the energy factor here is due to the need to use a large number electricity for the production of a unit of output: for example, for the production of synthetic fibers, plastics. The role of the environmental factor is negative impact many chemical industries on the environment. Therefore, their placement in densely populated areas is not allowed, or increased requirements are imposed on technologies for cleaning harmful emissions. With the advent of new industries, the role of the environmental factor intensifies over time.

Characteristics of production location factors

The raw factor is understood as the location of enterprises near sources of raw materials to obtain certain products: near mineral deposits, large water bodies, in forest areas, etc. The placement of such industries near sources of raw materials eliminates the transportation of large volumes and reduces the costs of enterprises. Therefore, production is organized as close as possible to the sources of raw materials. Finished products of enterprises will be cheaper due to lower costs for the delivery of raw materials. The raw material factor has a significant impact on the location of a number of industrial productions: for example, the production of potash fertilizers, cement, sawmilling, and enrichment of non-ferrous metal ores.

The fuel factor, like the raw material factor, has the same effect on the location of production. It is decisive in the location of industries that use large volumes of mineral fuels for the production of products: coal, natural gas, fuel oil. Such industries include heat power engineering, individual ferrous metallurgy, and the chemical industry. Thus, the most powerful thermal power plants in the USA, Russia, and China are built near large coal deposits. Many enterprises for the production of iron and steel are located near coal deposits.

The energy factor affects the location of industries in which a large amount of predominantly electrical energy is consumed to create a unit of production. Such industries are called energy intensive. These include the production of many light non-ferrous metals (aluminum, titanium, etc.), chemical fibers, and paper. Enterprises for the production of energy-intensive products are located in areas where mainly cheap electricity is produced in large volumes, for example, near large hydroelectric power plants.

The labor factor has a decisive influence on the location of industries based on the use of a large number of labor resources, including highly qualified specialists. These are labor intensive industries. For example, in light industry, such industries include clothing production. AT agriculture the most labor-intensive are rice growing, vegetable growing, fruit growing. The production of electronic equipment, personal computers involves the use of qualified personnel. Focused on labor factor, these industries are located mainly in densely populated areas with cheap labor.

The consumer, or market, factor affects the location of industries that produce products that are in wide, sometimes everyday, demand among the population. These are food, clothes, shoes, Appliances and others. Such industries are consumer-oriented and are located in almost all large settlements.

The role of the transport factor is important for all industries whose products are not consumed at the place of production, but are delivered to other areas. All enterprises are interested in reducing the cost of delivering finished products to the areas of their consumption. Therefore, many industries are located near large transport hubs, in seaports, on the lines of main railways, oil pipelines. The Mozyr oil refinery was built next to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

When placing production great importance acquires environmental factor associated with environmental protection. This factor limits the creation of production if it can harm environment. To industries that are characterized by large emissions of pollutants or other harmful effects on the environment, there are increased environmental requirements. They are not allowed to be placed in major cities and densely populated areas. These enterprises should use modern low-waste technologies and construction of waste treatment facilities.

AT modern conditions the role of the environmental factor is growing - it affects the location of all industries. It is most important to take into account the environmental factor when locating enterprises of the chemical industry, metallurgy, and energy, especially during the construction of nuclear power plants.

Labor-intensive activities include the production of electronic equipment, computers, clothing production, rice growing, vegetable growing, and fruit growing. In modern conditions, the environmental factor plays an increasingly important role in the location of production.

Placement factors is a set of spatial unequal conditions and resources, their properties, the correct use of which ensures high results in the placement of enterprises and the development of the economy of the regions.

All the variety of factors that have a huge impact on the location of production can be combined into related groups: natural factors, including the economic assessment of individual natural conditions and resources for the development of individual industries and regions; economic factors, including measures for the protection of nature and its rational use; demographic factors, which are understood as settlement systems, the provision of individual territories of the country with labor resources. These factors should also include the state of the social infrastructure. An important role in the rational distribution of the country's productive forces is played by economic, geographical and economic factors.

Thus, the following groups of factors are distinguished:

§ natural - quantitative reserves and qualitative composition natural resources, mining and geological and other conditions for their extraction and use, climatic, hydrogeological, orographic conditions, etc.

The natural basis for the development and distribution of industry in Russia is formed by the resources of mineral raw materials and fuel, water, fish and other resources of animal and plant origin. Accounting for the raw material factor requires a deep study of the reserves, quality and economics of the use of raw materials, fuel and energy resources in each region. According to the nature of the influence of the raw factor, all industries are divided into mining and manufacturing. The nature of the occurrence of minerals, the quantity and physico-chemical properties and methods of extraction affect the size of mining enterprises, the forms of organization of production, and ultimately determine the economic efficiency of the extractive industries.

The volume of production of individual mining enterprises, labor productivity, specific capital investments and production costs largely depend on the depth of mineral deposits. For example, the average depth of development of coal deposits is: in Donbass - 558 m, Kuzbass - 262 m, Karaganda basin - 384 m and Ekibazstuz - 90 m, etc. If the thickness of coal seams in the Donets Basin, as a rule, does not exceed 2.5 m, then in the Kuznetsk Basin it reaches 25 m, Kansk-Achinsk and Ekibastuz - 70-100 m. 18 times higher, and the cost of 1 ton of coal is 12 times lower.

In contrast to the mining industry, the influence of the raw material factor on the location of the manufacturing industry depends on the role of objects of labor in the economy of each industry, as well as on the consumer properties of products.

For example, highly material-intensive industries, where the specific consumption of raw materials is much more than one (in the sugar industry - 5-7 tons, in the hydrolysis industry - 5.3-7.6, in the smelting of copper from concentrates - 7.5, etc.) have a pronounced raw material orientation.

High-energy-intensive industries are oriented towards massive and efficient fuel and energy resources.

A significant adjustment in the influence of the raw material factor on the location of manufacturing industries is made by the properties of the products produced. They mainly determine its economic and technological transportability.

The location of industrial production is increasingly influenced by the availability of water resources. This is due to an increase in the capacity of enterprises and a general increase in the water intensity of production associated with the development of the metallurgical, pulp and paper and, especially, chemical industries, where water serves not only as an auxiliary material, but also as one of the important raw materials.

The geographic environment has a significant impact on the location of industry, i.e. climatic conditions, hydrological regime of rivers, relief of the territory. Climatic conditions have an impact on the location of industrial enterprises due to unequal working conditions and human life in different areas. In regions with unfavorable climatic conditions, the costs of labor force reproduction, capital investments in the construction of enterprises and the costs of their operation will be higher.

§ environmental - the degree of economical use of natural resources and the provision of healthy living and working conditions for the population;

§ socio-demographic - availability of labor resources, the state of social infrastructure, etc.

The location of industry is greatly influenced by the distribution of labor resources throughout the country and the density of consumption. The labor factor is important for literally all industries, but its influence is reduced as the labor intensity of production decreases. The greater the labor intensity of production and the share of wages in the cost of production, the stronger the dependence of the location of production on the geography of labor resources and vice versa. At the same time, the structure and qualification composition of labor resources in certain regions of the country should be taken into account.



Consumption density, which is characterized by the size of the population's demand for a particular product, acts in the opposite direction to raw materials and fuel and energy factors. Those industries that are usually engaged in servicing the population or producing low-transportable and perishable products usually gravitate towards areas and centers of consumption. The role of the consumer factor is often enhanced by the factor of labor resources, since the places where the population is concentrated are at the same time not only sources of labor, but also consumers of a significant amount of industrial products.

§ technical – achieved and possible level of engineering and technology;

§ technical and economic - labor intensity, material consumption, energy intensity, water intensity, transportability of products, etc.;

§ economic - economic-geographical and transport position, the cost of capital and current costs, construction time, production efficiency, purpose and quality of products, territorial economic relations, etc.

Transport has a certain influence on the location of various industries. For example, in the ferrous metallurgy, cement, brick and other industries, where the share of transport costs is 35-50% of the cost of their products to the consumer, transport is of decisive importance. The possibility of reducing transportation costs plays an important role in improving the economic efficiency of the territorial organization of these industries.

In superphosphate, meat, pulp and paper and some other industries, the share of transportation costs is 10-25%. Here this factor plays a significant but not decisive role. In machine-building textile, leather and footwear, etc. industries, the share of transport costs is 3-5%, and here this factor does not play a significant role. However, even for these industries, the reduction of transport costs, which reach significant sizes, is of considerable importance.

Of the whole variety of factors in the location of the economy, some of them are characteristic of many of its industries, for example, attraction to the consumer (and in industries production complex, and in industries not production area), others are inherent only in one industry or group of industries (gravitation towards recreational resources).

However, each sector of the economy has its own set of factors for its placement. Moreover, even factors common with other industries in each specific case appear with different strength, and if for some industries any factor has a decisive impact on the geography of the industry, then in another industry it is of secondary importance. Thus:

§ Each branch of the economy has its own set and combination of factors of its location;

§ The combination and role of individual factors in the location of the economy in a particular country depend on the sectoral structure of the economy of the country or region.

Since the sectoral structure of most countries of the world is evolving towards an increase in the share of non-manufacturing sectors and a decrease in the share of manufacturing sectors, it can be stated that the increasing role of the consumer factor in the location of the economy is a global trend. This is especially true for economically developed countries, where today this factor has already become a determining factor in the deployment of their economic potential.

However, for developing countries and, unfortunately, to a large extent for Russia, the role of resource, fuel-energy and natural-climatic factors in the deployment of economic potential is exceptionally large, because the sectoral structure of their economy is characterized by:

§ the predominance of the production sector over non-production;

§ predominance in the sectoral structure of the industry of its lower levels (fuel, energy, and raw materials);

§ as a rule, a larger share in GDP compared to economically developed countries of agricultural production.

Since each industry has its own set and its own combination of placement factors, it makes sense to consider these factors from the perspective of their industry differentiation. The most complex set of placement factors and their combination are typical for industry.

In the distribution of productive forces, the role of the totality of factors is great. An economically justified distribution of productive forces, taking into account a combination of factors in a market economy, will contribute to a more efficient use of natural resource potential and integrated development of regions.


Main questions. How is the economy of the world located? What factors determine the location of production in different areas?

The world economy can be divided into large geographic regions (North America, Europe, Africa, etc.) according to the totality of interrelated geographical and economic signs and phenomena. In the placement of the world economy, ten main economic regions are distinguished (Fig. 14.1. Spatial structure of the world economy). Five regions form groups of countries with a high share in the gross world product (North American, Western Europe, Newly industrialized countries of Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Countries Persian Gulf). Separate countries are separate regions: China, India, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.

The leading position in the modern world economy is occupied by North America and Western Europe, whose share in GDP is approximately equal (21-22%). In third place at the end of the twentieth century. China came out, surpassing Japan in terms of GDP growth. The new industrial countries of Asia, the CIS countries, India, Brazil, Mexico and the oil-producing countries of the Persian Gulf stand out. In the second half of the 20th century, the role of the countries of the new Asia-Pacific region in the world economy is growing.

Production location factors. Under the main factors of production location (natural and social) are understood natural, economic and social conditions under which optimal opportunities for organizing production are created. natural factors- dependence of the location of industry from natural conditions and resources. Their presence, or lack, absence determines the cost of production, the amount of income of enterprises. Economic and geographical position(EGP) - the position of a given territory in relation to communication routes, sales markets, sources of raw materials, etc. According to the degree of influence of factors on the development of the economy, there are material-intensive,energy intensive, labor intensive and consumer-oriented industries.

Territory security various types natural resources (raw material)- minerals, forest, water, etc., as well as the proximity or remoteness from these resources. Opportunities and conveniences for the supply of raw materials, export finished products (consumer), as well as the cost of their transportation (transport). Shipping costs for raw materials and finished products can be very high.

Of great importance for the organization of the economy is the availability of fuel (fuel factor) and electricity ( energy). Individual industries require a large amount of electricity, coal, gas. These are energy-intensive industries (production of aluminum and other non-ferrous metals).

Availability of demand and markets. This also applies to low-transport products.

Availability cheap labor (labor), highly qualified and educated personnel. The presence of cheap labor in developing countries forces the transfer of labor-intensive production from the territory of developed countries, where there is a shortage of them, to developing ones.

Environmental factor limits the creation of production if it can cause significant harm to the environment. Certain types of industries require expensive treatment facilities.

Territorial concentration of production, the presence (concentration) of economic objects and the population in certain centers, regions, nodes. Accounting for this factor allows you to establish links with other enterprises, save on transportation costs.

The role of each factor is evaluated through product prices. To establish production costs and expected profit, the cost of raw materials, their transportation, wages of workers, construction work, and construction of treatment facilities are analyzed.

1. What features are observed in the current location of the world economy? Which industries gravitate toward sources of raw materials? 2. What industries are classified as energy intensive? 3*. What is the role of the environmental factor in the location of industrial and agricultural enterprises?

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