Post-industrial economy = economy of many economically developed countries , where manufacturing
industries have been replaced by tertiary/quaternary industries
○ Tertiary sector = involves selling of services and skills
■ eg/ teachers, doctors, bus drivers
● UK’s largest sector – employs 4.4 million
○ Quaternary sector (knowledge economy) = involves industries providing information
services/knowledge , such as finance, Information Technology and Research and Development
■ eg/ IT consultant, biotechnology, new creative industries → 10 – 15% of UK workforce
Locations of economic growth:
● Economists have identified a list of cities outside London that have experienced recent growth → have
potential for future (economic) growth
1. Cambridge = 175
2. Reading = 146
3. Manchester = 131
4. Bristol = 129
5. Oxford = 128
6. Brighton and Hove = 127
7. Milton Keynes = 123
8. Leeds = 114
9. Warrington = 113
10. Nottingham = 107
Cities are given a score based on:
○ Number of quaternary industries with potential for growth
○ Highly skilled workforce , educated to degree level or above
○ New start-up businesses with potential to grow larger
○ Good transport connections (road/rail/air)
● These cities are the focus of growth corridors following major transport routes
○ Growth corridors = an area of the country where the economy is growing – often along a major
transport route (linking two/more cities)
● Majority of growth corridors link London to cities around South England
○ eg/ M4 corridor → London-Brighton, London-Milton Keynes
How the M4 corridor contributes to the economy:
● M4 corridor = a home to high-tech industry over the last 30 years (from London → Bristol )
○ Well-known companies are based there , in modern business parks
■ eg/ Microsoft, Sony and Vodafone
● M4 corridor produces 8% of UK’s economic output
○ = the amount produced by Manchester and Birmingham combined
● Recently, businesses in the M4 have been moving to London
○ eg/ Vodafone moved its global headquarters to London (2009)
○ eg/ Google opted to move to London instead of the M4 corridor
● Factors drawing companies to London:
○ Attraction of urban living → young workforce
○ Proximity of similar companies to swap ideas/workers
○ New businesses require less space than the first generation of high-tech industry
■ Are able to move into London as they require less physical space → business transactions
are done online