This document summarizes Weber's theory of industrial location, which proposes that firms will seek to locate production in areas with the lowest costs. Weber identified three main cost factors that influence a firm's location decision: transport costs, labor costs, and agglomeration economies. Transport costs depend on the weight and distance of goods transported as well as the type of commodity. Labor costs can vary based on wage rates and efficiency levels between locations. Agglomeration refers to cost advantages from concentrating similar industries together. The theory has been criticized for oversimplifying factors like transport costs and assuming fixed labor and market locations.
MEANING OF INDUSTRIALLOCATION
Industrial location refers to geographical position of
industries.
The analysis of industrial location shows wide variations in
their distributional patterns.
Some industries are spread evenly throughout the whole
region and some other are found only at a particular place.
4.
LOCATION AND LOCALIZATIONOF INDUSTRIES
An entrepreneur would like to establish his industry
where the cost of production is lowest, this is called
‘Location of Industry’.
The Concentration of an industry in a particular area
is called as ‘Localization of Industry’.
For example:- A large number of factories producing
cotton textiles are concentrated in Mumbai & Ahmedabad.
WHO WAS ALFREDWEBER?
Alfred Weber was a German
economist, geographer,
sociologist and theoretician of
culture whose work was
influential in the development of
modern economic geography.
Published his Theory on Location
of Industries in1909.
Earlier to Weber, another German
economist Launhardt has given a
simple principle of industrial
location based on minimum
transport cost. (30July 1868 – 2 May 1958)
INTRODUCTION
7.
a firm wouldchoose Weber’s basic principle is that
location where costs are the least.
Assumptions:-
Unit of study is taken as single country with consumption
centre.
Some natural resources are ubiquitous.
E.g.: Water, Sand, Clay etc.
Some natural resources are localized in nature.
E.g.: Iron ore, Fuel etc.
Labour is not ubiquitous but it has fixed location and fixed
mobility.
Homogeneous climate.
TRANSPORT COST
by threebasic Transport cost are influenced
elements.
The weight to be transported.
The distance to be covered.
The nature of commodity.
11.
E.g. 1000 kgof Gold Ore will give
you only10 kg of pure Gold.
12.
MATERIAL INDEX
Material Index=Weight of local materials input
Weight of final products
If MI is greater than one then the firm is material
oriented.
If MI is less than one then the firm is market
oriented.
If MI is equal to one then the firm is material as well
as market oriented.
MI= Material Index
13.
LOCATIONAL TRIANGLE
Costliest &
Shortestto
Transport
2nd Costliest & 2nd
Transport
Market
Cheapest &
Longest to
Transport
TRANSPORT COST
POINT
Material A
(Gold)
MI=100
Material B
(Silver)
MI=10
14.
LABOUR COST
Accordingto Weber, another regional factor for
deviation of Industry from one place to another is
Labour Cost. It happens due to Difference in
labour costs.
The Labour costs may differs due to two reasons:-
Differences in wage rates.
Differences in the level of efficiency.
According to him, If savings in labour cost per unit
of output are greater than the extra transport cost
per unit then the industry take deviation from Least
Transport Cost Point to Least Labour Cost
Point.
15.
T= Least Transport
CostLocation
L= Cheap Labour
Cost Location
$3
$6
$9
Labour cost per unit at L are less than $6 than at point T,
as L is within isodopane $6, the firm would, other things being
equal, will divert its location at the point of reduced labour cost
i.e. at ‘L’.
17.
AGGLOMERATIVE
Meaning –Agglomerative refers to the advantages
production due the
mizing cost of
any industries
al and external
-
or cheapening of cost
concentration of an industry.
In
production due
in a particular
economics of v
• Sharing of equ
• Specialization
• Large scale of
others words –mini
to centralization of m
area through intern
arious kinds such as:
ipments
business and selling
DEGGLOMERATIVE
due to following
Meaning – Degglomerative is opposite to the
agglomerative. Such situation arises due to rise in
the cost of production and leads to decentralization
of industries.
reases
materials
Cost of productioninc
reasons.
Rise in the price of raw
High price of land
Rise in tax rates
Government policies.
20.
SPLIT IN LOCATION
Its means locating industry more than one place.
In other words, first stage of production may be
near the source of raw materials and later stage
may be near the place of final
consumption(market). This results in cost savings.
For example- In gold manufacturing industry, the
processing of gold ore(raw) will be near the source of
gold ore and manufacturing of gold ornaments will be
near the place of final consumption or market.
21.
CRITICISMS OF WEBER'STHEORY
Weber’s treatment of transport costs in terms weight and
distance only found to be objectionable. Further, the
transport costs in the actual word vary largely with type of
transportation and the quality of goods.
Weber, in his theory of location, has assumed the existence
of fixed labour centers. In real world, it is very difficult to find
places with unlimited supplies of labour.
Weber’s assumption of the existence of fixed points of
consumption has been questioned. According to Austin
Robinson in reality there is a wide spread market served by
competing producers.
Weber has been criticized because he has selected only
three factors namely transport, labour and agglomeration as
causes of localization. According to S.R.Dennison this
largely arbitrary. There may be other similar which cannot be
ignored.