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• Globalization has led to economic restructuring as businesses seek to take advantage of the new Global Market
• Core countries continue to lose jobs in the secondary and tertiary sectors as companies move production to semi-periphery and periphery countries to utilize cheaper labor and less regulation
• Offshoring


  The process of relocating a business's services or processes to a foreign country
• Outsourcing


  When a business contracts out a service or job to an external provider in order to reduce their costs and increase their efficiency
• Economies of scale


  The decrease in cost per unit of production as companies get larger and can purchase better machines, systems and have more access to capital
• Large agro-businesses have achieved economies of scale due to advanced machinery that can quickly produce lots of food, making it difficult for family farms to compete
• Disney has achieved economies of scale by owning a variety of companies that share ideas, talents and resources to produce high-value content at a lower individual cost
• International division of labor


  The concept that seeks to illustrate how different countries utilize their comparative advantage to specialize in different economic activities and resources
• The international division of labor has both positive and negative aspects, such as the negative impact of economic restructuring on cities like Detroit
• Semi-periphery and periphery countries are seeking to increase economic investment from multinational corporations and core countries by creating special economic zones, free trade zones and export processing zones
• Special economic zones


  Areas that provide incentives and benefits to businesses, such as tax breaks, less regulation and access to services and infrastructure, to attract foreign investment
• Free trade zones


  Areas within a country that allow companies to import and export products without paying tariffs or custom duties
• Export processing zones


  Areas that prioritize the exportation of goods, often with manufacturing plants located near borders to take advantage of cheaper labor
• Multiplier effect


  How an original investment into an economy can create a ripple effect and end up creating a larger impact than the original amount spent
• Countries are shifting from Fordist methods of production, which emphasize mass production of standard goods in large factories, to post-Fordist methods, which emphasize more flexible production methods to meet changing market demands
• Just-in-time delivery


  When materials, parts or products are delivered to a manufacturing facility precisely when they are needed, reducing costs and waste
• Agglomeration


  The clustering of different economic activities and industries in a specific geographic area to reduce overall costs
• Growth poles


  Areas or cities that are centers of economic growth, often created by targeted public or private investment in infrastructure and policies to create a pro-business environment
• Globalization and the changing international division of labor will continue to lead to de-industrialization in core countries as production moves to lower-cost countries, raising questions about the sustainability of current production practices