Agrarian Theory Economic Base Theory Labor supply theory

1. THEORIES
&
CONCEPTS
“URBAN/TOWN DEVELOPMENT
THEORY TO HELP UNDERSTAND
THE REALITY’’
Nor Suzylah Sohaimi, PhD.
School of Government
Universiti Utara Malaysia
Kedah, Malaysia

2. Agrarian Theory
Labor Supply Theory
THEORY OF
URBAN
DEVELOPMENT
Economic Base Theory

3. Agrarian Theory
Emphasizes the moral elevation of agriculture
based on rural life compared to the urban life
which is considered full of deficiencies, life based on
materialism, capitalism, monopolies, and corruption.

4. o Agrarian theory is a way of thinking and beliefs of a farmers groups in the early history, especially in Europe
and the United States.
o It is heavily influenced by religious beliefs that extends towards the ideal farm life as life and reject
modern life that is based on the industry
AGRARIAN ……….RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
o This mindset began to fade after the influence of the industrial revolution began
to show better success. Elements of capitalism began to spread and has overtaken agriculture
mindset.
o The influence also led to the growth of capitalism and imperialism movement that was to
shape the history of colonialism and the expansion of economic colonialism.
o The original town is an agricultural area that suffered agglomeration of economic and social activities.
MINDSET
CHANGE

5. The term "agrarianism" also connotes a form of movement that makes radical proposals for land
redistribution, especially from the rich to the poor who do not
have land.
This terminology comes from the "agrarian laws" in Rome around 133 BC, enforced by Tiberius Gracchus who
took over the land of the rich and make a distribution to
the poor people, "Robin Hood’’ style.
In the 18th & 19th century in England, this terminology refers to any form of land reform movement that
projected redistribution of agricultural land equally.

6. M. Thomas Inge (1969) defines agrarianism which has the following characteristics:
Cultivation of the soil
provides direct contact
with nature; through the
contact with nature, the
agrarian acquires the virtues
of "honor, manliness, self-
reliance, courage, moral
integrity, and hospitality" and
follows the example of God
when creating order out of
chaos.
The farmer "has a sense
of identity, a sense of
historical and religious
tradition, a feeling of
belonging to a
concrete family, place,
and region, which are
psychologically and culturally
beneficial." The harmony of
this life checks the
encroachments of a
fragmented, alienated
modern society that has
grown to inhuman scale
In contrast, farming
offers more
independence and
self-sufficiency. It has a
solid, stable position in the
world order. But urban life,
capitalism, and technology
destroy independence and
dignity while fostering vice
and weakness. The
agricultural community can
provide checks and balances
against the imbalances of
modern society by its
fellowship of labor and
cooperation with other
agrarians, while obeying the
rhythms of nature.

7. Economic Base Theory (EBT)
In the process of urbanization, there is a keen interest to the
researchers to see how the city grew and how urban growth
projections can be made. One theory was introduced by Sombart
and executed by Homer Hovt is Economic Base Theory.
In general, this theory says that the economic base of the city is
dependent on the sale of goods and services outside the
urban community. This so-called export sales.
These proceeds are to help develop the city's economy and
encouraging local growth of the services sector.

8. • Using Work/ employment as a unit of
measurement.
• Total Employment in making goods
and services produced by a town
and sold or exported outside of
the city called Basic activities.
• Total Employment in activities that involved
only to the local market activity
called Non-Basic activities.
• Economists initially thought that urban
growth is a result of the development
of the Basic component of the
overall employment in an urban area
and stressed that employment in Non-
Basic components only grew after
CITY
Outside Areas
export
basic
Non-basic
Non-basic
bank
Shop
TOURISTS

9. Export
specialization
Export
Complex
Economic
maturity
Metropolis
Region
Elite
Level
1
2
3
4
5
EBT has been further
reinforced by
Thompson (1965),
mentioning that there
are 5 stages of
development-in the
development of the
city:
Occurred when the local economy
began to grow with the
establishment of a manufacturing
company dedicated to export.
Occurred when there was an
additional company to provide input
or to buy the output of the former
factory
Formed when Non-basic activities
started to grow to support the basic
activities in stages 1 and 2.
A town became a wholesaler or
broker to another area or city. City at
this stage a lot to offer services to the
surrounding market area (Hinterland).
Which city has the professional and technical skills and has been functioning
as a centre in a variety of fields. Often the city has its own advantages such as
Detroit / Tg Malim as urban automobile, Boston / Bangi as urban education,
Miami / Langkawi as a tourist city, Houston / Kertih as urban energy

10. Basic/ Non-basic
In 1950s many geographers and economists discuss the EBT to unlock
the mystery behind the development of the city. Term as primary,
external, basic, and town building often used interchangeably to
describe the basic sector job.
At the same term as the secondary, ancillary, services, and the town-
serving to illustrate the non-basic sector job.
Urban development can be enhanced by increasing employment in
basic sectors such as industry.

11. Weaknesses of EBT
Data and statistics in the study area sometimes can not be
obtained, especially in developing countries.
Difficulty in determining where the basic industries and non-basic.
In advanced economies, the confusion has arisen where many
industries are not included in the category of basic and non-basic,
but more to the middle or intermediate industries.

12. Labor Supply Theory
The economist has submitted Labor Supply Theory that mentions:
 Human resources available in the area capable of towing a
"magnet" to
a particular industry.
 Labor or employment in the manufacturing sector expanded more
rapidly
in areas with low labor costs and where only a fraction of the
local
labor force is involved in the manufacturing field.
 Entrepreneurs/ Investor just want to invest in areas that offer
cheap labor
to the profit rate can be improved.

13. Decentralization, many factories in Malaysia has moved to
China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines because there are
lower labor costs.
This phenomenon generally occurs on the factory labor-intensive,
low tech, and no factor depending on the local input sources other
than human resources.
Capital-intensive industries and technologies often have different
considerations. Many other factors should be considered in
to low labor costs, such as human resources with knowledge and
and skills.

14. What happens if too many people are moving (Migrate)
from village to city??