Lesson 2: World Regions and Theories of Uneven Economic Development

January 18, 2017

Wed, Jan 18

Review:

• Syllabus
• World Map Exercise
• Guns, Germs and Steel

Presentation:

• World Regions
  • Continents
  • Global Sales Territory Partition (typical) in Business
    • Americas
    • EMEA
    • Asia Pacific
  • World Bank Regions
  • The Plaid Avenger (John Boyer) – World Regions

  • 

  • Regions we will cover
    • Europe (Western Europe + Eastern Europe)
    • Middle East (Middle East/North Africa + Turkey)
    • Russia and Central Asia (Russia + Central Asia)
    • South Asia (South Asia)
    • East Asia (East Asia + Japan + Southeast Asia)
    • Central America (Mexico, Central America and Caribbean)
    • South America (South America)
• Jared Diamond’s theories on economic development presented in Guns, Germs & Steel
  • Not much economic disparity during Hunter-Gatherer times
  • Agricultural Revolution in the Fertile Crescent
    • Why the fertile crescent? Wheat, Climate, Livestock
  • Food Surplus allowed specialization and technology development
    • Farming, animal domestication, steel, weapons
    • Imagine the transition from hunter to farmer to technologist
  • Geographic dissemination
    • Eurasia facilitated dissemination in comparable climates
    • Not so in Americas, Africa
  • Fertile Crescent was a “hot spot”
    • Where are other hot spots through history?
    • Where are the hot spots today?
  • Criticism
    • Geographic Determinism
    • Niall Ferguson: The 6 Killer Apps of Prosperity (video)

Activity:

• Map of Europe
• Cold War Era Map of Europe
• Blank Map of Europe:
•