WHAT AND WHAT ARE TERTIARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Some tertiary economic activities are transportation, insurance, advertising, storage, sales, among others. The activities corresponding to the production of information are also usually included in this sector; however, some economists have developed a new theory.

It proposes the existence of an additional sector, the quaternary, in which activities of an intellectual nature are integrated, such as education, information technologies and scientific research, among others.

The tertiary sector is one of the sectors in which the economy is divided, which refers to the commercial services that accompany the production and distribution processes. This sector is also known as the service sector, since its purpose is not to create a product but to offer it or serve it to consumers.

Tertiary sector activities

Activities in the tertiary sector can be divided into three large groups: commerce, transport and services.

1- Trade

Trade represents the way of carrying out transactions of goods and services, from a producer to a consumer. In simpler terms, trading refers to the practice of buying and selling. This is divided into two branches: internal and external.

Internal trade

Internal trade is that which takes place within a country. It can be wholesale, where large quantities of products are bought or sold, or retail, when small quantities are sold.

Foreign trade

Foreign trade refers to commercial transactions between countries. This can be export (when the country sells products to other nations) or import (when the country buys products from other nations).

2- Transportation

The transport can be of merchandise and products

Transportation is the process of moving goods or people from one place to another. This can be:

1. Land.
2. Water.
3. Aerial.

With regard to the transport of people, the development of public transport structures is an important phenomenon for the development of a city. The railway was one of the first that allowed the growth of urban centers. Later, in the 19th century, some countries introduced the tram.

Currently, the most common transport services are taxi services, buses, rail systems (subways and commuter trains) and commercial airlines.

These means of transport constitute an essential service for the proper functioning of an urban society, since they allow traveling at an affordable price.

Relationship between transport and trade

Most of the transport of goods is done by sea.

Transportation makes certain business transactions possible. This relationship gives rise to commercial routes, which can be maritime, rail or air.

Most commercial transportation is done by sea or ocean. The best known sea routes are:

1. Europe - United States, across the Atlantic Ocean.
2. That of the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal and the Rock of Gibraltar.
3. Japan - Europe and America, through the Panama Canal and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Air routes are usually used only as a mail system, since the high cost of these does not allow them to be used as cargo transport.

Lastly, rail routes are widely used in Europe, the continent with the most developed rail system. Between the United States and Canada, the railroad is used to transport products and raw materials from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific and vice versa.

3- Services

Services are the activities carried out by individuals or by organizations, which are intended to satisfy the individual and collective needs of members of the population.

Services include public health, water, electricity, urban cleaning, public banking, the mass media, the entertainment industry and the hotel industry.

Public health

Public health, also known as the health network, allows increasing the quality of life of the population.

The health network should include the following services: outpatient clinics, recovery centers, hospitals, maternity wards, among others, which make it possible to largely satisfy the medical needs of individuals in a society.

In developed countries, the public health system is optimal. However, in underdeveloped countries, the health network is insufficient or even non-existent.

Urban toilet

Urban cleaning is the service that is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the streets and urbanizations of a country. This, together with the health network, protects the health of individuals in a society.

Public banking

The purpose of public banking is to safeguard the money or values ​​of individuals or organizations. The banking system of nations is usually organized under a central bank, responsible for issuing the national currency.

Entertainment

The entertainment industry is an essential element of the tertiary sector. Film, record and book production are part of this group. In this sense, cinemas, theaters and libraries are establishments belonging to the tertiary sector.

For their part, radio and television, in addition to being mass media, are also entertainment industries.

Telecommunications

The telecommunications service refers to the transmission of electrical or electromagnetic signals, which are aimed at remote communication. The telephone is the best example of this.

Other telecommunications services include some mass communication media, such as radio, television, and electronic media.

Hostelry

The hotel industry is a service industry that favors the development of tourism in a country, since it offers lodging and lodging options for visitors.

References

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2. Rosenberg, Matt (2017). Sectors of the Economy. Retrieved on April 20, 2017, from thoughtco.com.
3. Pettinger, Teivan (2014). Sectors of the Economy. Retrieved on April 20, 2017, from economicshelp.com.
4. Service Sector. Retrieved on April 20, 2017, from investopedia.com.
5. Tertiary Industry. Retrieved on April 20, 2017, from investopedia.com.
6. Economic Activities. Retrieved on April 20, 2017, from saids.net.
7. Industrial Sectors. Retrieved on April 20, 2017, from learmanagement2.com.