SECONDARY SECTOR OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

(Redirected from Secondary industry)
The 'secondary sector of industry' includes those economic sectors that create a finished, usable product: manufacturing and construction. This sector of industry generally takes the output of the primary sector and manufactures finished goods or products to a point where they are suitable for use by other businesses, for export, or sale to domestic consumers. This sector is often divided into light industry and heavy industry. Many of these industries consume large quantities of energy and require factories and machinery to convert the raw materials into goods and products. They also produce waste materials and waste heat that may pose environmental problems or cause pollution.

Some economists contrast wealth producing sectors in an economy such as manufacturing with the service sector which tends to be wealth consuming.^[1] Examples of service may include retail, insurance, and government. These economists contend that an economy begins to decline as its wealth producing sector shrinks. ^[2] Manufacturing is an important activity to promote economic growth and development. Nations which export manufactured products tend to generate higher marginal GDP growth which supports higher incomes and marginal tax revenue needed to fund the quality of life initiatives such as health care and infrastructure in the economy. The field is an important source for engineering job opportunities. Among developed countries, it is an important source of good paying jobs for the middle-class to facilitate greater social mobility for successive generations in an economy.
Divisions of this sector include:

★ Aerospace manufacturing

★ Automobile manufacturing

★ Brewing industry

★ Chemical industry

★ Clothing industry

★ Electronics

★ Engineering

★ Energy industries including the production of petroleum, gas and Electric power

★ Industrial equipment

★ Metalworking

★ Steel production

★ Steel industry

★ Software engineering

★ Telecommunications Industry

★ Tobacco industry

Contents

References

See also

References

1. David Friedman, New America Foundation (2002-06-16).No Light at the End of the Tunnel ''Los Angeles Times''.
2. Sir Keith Joseph, Center for Policy Studies (1976-04-05).Stockton Lecture, ''Monetarism Is Not Enough'', with forward by Margaret Thatcher. (Barry Rose Pub.) Margaret Thatcher Foundation (2006).

See also

★ Manufacturing

★ Primary sector of industry

★ Tertiary sector of industry

★ Quaternary sector of industry

★ Three-sector hypothesis

★ Industrial policy