Production
Economics· 1.2.1· 15 min read
1. Four Factors of Production★☆☆☆☆⏱ 4 min
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Factors of production
The four key inputs required to produce any good or service in an economy
Land: All natural resources used in production, including minerals, farmland, forests, and water
Labour: All human physical and mental effort used to produce goods and services
Capital: All man-made resources used to produce other goods, including machinery, factories, tools, and delivery vehicles
Enterprise: The skill of combining the other three factors of production to create goods, take business risks, and innovate
Identify and define the factor of production represented by each of the following: a) A farmer’s tractor, b) A software developer working for a fintech firm, c) A lithium mine in Australia, d) A founder launching a new zero-waste grocery brand
- 1
a) Tractors are man-made resources used to produce farm goods, so this is capital.
- 2
b) The software developer provides human mental effort to produce services, so this is labour.
- 3
c) A lithium mine is a natural resource used in production, so this is land.
- 4
d) The founder is combining factors of production and taking risks to launch a new business, so this is enterprise.
2. Three Sectors of the Economy★★☆☆☆⏱ 4 min
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Economic sectors
Groups of production activities classified by the type of good or service they produce, split into three core categories for IGCSE Economics
Primary sector: Activities focused on extracting or growing natural resources, e.g. farming, fishing, mining, forestry
Secondary sector: Activities focused on turning raw materials into finished goods and construction, e.g. car manufacturing, food processing, house building
Tertiary sector: Activities focused on providing services, e.g. retail, healthcare, education, banking, transport
Classify each of the following businesses into the correct economic sector: a) A coffee farm in Colombia, b) A factory making electric bicycles, c) A chain of high street hair salons in France
- 1
a) Coffee farming grows a natural resource, so it is part of the primary sector.
- 2
b) The electric bicycle factory turns raw materials (metal, lithium, plastic) into finished goods, so it is part of the secondary sector.
- 3
c) Hair salons provide personal services to customers, so they are part of the tertiary sector.
3. Structural Change Across Economies★★★☆☆⏱ 7 min
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Structural change
The shift in the relative share of total employment and output contributed by each economic sector as an economy develops over time
The standard pattern of structural change as economies develop follows a clear sequence:
1. Low-income developing economies: Largest share of employment/output in the primary sector, with small secondary and tertiary sectors
2. Middle-income emerging economies: Secondary sector grows rapidly (industrialisation) while the primary sector shrinks
3. High-income developed economies: Tertiary sector is the largest by employment and output, while the secondary sector shrinks (de-industrialisation) and the primary sector is very small.
Key drivers of tertiary sector growth in developed economies include rising household incomes (leading to higher spending on services like holidays and healthcare), automation reducing demand for manufacturing labour, and globalisation moving low-cost manufacturing to developing economies.
In 1990, South Korea had 27% of employment in manufacturing and 52% in services. In 2024, manufacturing employment was 16% and services employment was 78%. Name and explain the process shown by these data.
- 1
The process shown is de-industrialisation, a specific form of structural change.
- 2
The share of employment in the secondary (manufacturing) sector fell from 27% to 16% between 1990 and 2024, while the tertiary (services) sector share rose from 52% to 78%.
- 3
This pattern is common in high-income developed economies, caused by factors like rising consumer demand for services, automation of manufacturing jobs, and offshoring of low-value production to lower-wage countries.
4. Common Pitfalls
Wrong move:
Confusing capital (production inputs) with money
Why:
Money is not a factor of production because it cannot be used to directly produce goods; it is only a medium of exchange.
Correct move:
Only classify man-made items used in production (machinery, factories, tools) as capital.
Wrong move:
Classifying food processing as primary sector activity
Why:
Food processing turns raw agricultural products into finished goods (e.g. turning wheat into bread), so it is secondary sector.
Correct move:
Only the extraction/growing of natural resources counts as primary; any processing of those resources is secondary.
Wrong move:
Claiming the secondary sector disappears completely in developed economies
Why:
De-industrialisation means the secondary sector shrinks relative to the tertiary sector, not that it ceases to exist entirely.
Correct move:
Refer to the falling share of employment/output for the secondary sector in developed economies, not absolute disappearance.
Wrong move:
Assuming all developing economies follow the same structural change path
Why:
Some developing economies (e.g. India) have a large tertiary sector before fully industrialising, skipping parts of the traditional secondary growth phase.
Correct move:
Reference the general pattern of structural change, but note that individual country experiences may vary.
5. Quick Reference Cheatsheet
Concept | Definition | Key Examples |
|---|---|---|
Land | Natural resources used in production | Mineral mines, farmland, forests, water |
Labour | Human physical/mental effort used in production | Teachers, factory workers, doctors, builders |
Capital | Man-made resources used to produce other goods | Machinery, factories, tools, delivery vans |
Enterprise | Skill of combining factors, taking risks, innovating | Startup founders, business owners |
Primary sector | Extraction/production of natural resources | Farming, fishing, mining, forestry |
Secondary sector | Manufacturing and construction | Car factories, food processing, house building |
Tertiary sector | Provision of services | Retail, healthcare, education, banking, transport |
Structural change | Shift in relative size of economic sectors as economies develop | Shift from primary to secondary to tertiary over time |
De-industrialisation | Falling share of secondary sector in employment/output | Decline of manufacturing in the UK since 1970 |
6. Frequently Asked
Do I need to learn rewards for factors of production for this topic?
No, rewards (rent, wages, interest, profit) are not assessed in this sub-topic. You only need to define each factor of production with examples.
What is the difference between structural change and de-industrialisation?
Structural change is the general shift in the relative size of economic sectors as a country develops. De-industrialisation is a specific type of structural change where the secondary (manufacturing) sector shrinks in importance relative to the tertiary sector, common in developed economies.
Going deeper
What's Next
Now you have mastered core production concepts, you are ready to move to related Business Economics topics in the Edexcel IGCSE Economics specification. Next, you will learn about productivity and division of labour, which builds on the factors of production to explain how businesses can increase the efficiency of their production processes. Following that, you will cover costs, revenues and profit, which explore how businesses measure financial performance and make production decisions. Understanding production is also foundational for later topics on market structures, international trade, and economic growth, as it explains how goods and services are created and distributed across different economies. Make sure you can confidently define all factors and sectors, and explain structural change patterns before moving on, as these concepts are frequently assessed in both short-answer and extended data response questions on Paper 1.