The growth and location of tertiary and quaternary activities

Growth

Three important points that had already been made about the tertiary and quaternary sector:

•  These two sectors involve the provision of a wide range of services
• The tertiary sector grows in importance with economic development-it generates much employment and economic wealth
• The tertiary sector is only found in the most economically advanced countries- it is largely about information and communication and makes use of the latest technology 

As a county moves along the development pathways several things happen:

• It is able to afford more and better social services, such as schools, medical centres, hospitals and libraries
• People earn more money to spend in the shops on 'basic' things such as food and clothing
• After they have bought the basics, people have more money left (disposable income) to spend on luxuries, such as entertainment, holidays, eating out and recreation 
• People's tastes changes and this impacts on the tertiary sector. For example, cinemas are closed because many people now prefer to watch DVDs at home. 
• New technology creates and makes possible new services, new services connected to ICT, broadband service providers, website designers, mobile phone networks, software programmes as the servicing of PCs ad laptops.

His shows the cycle of growth within the tertiary sector. However there are two other reasons for the rise of the tertiary sector, particularly in the UK and other HICs. First the tertiary sectors share of employment and GDP have been been influenced by the decline in the primary and secondary sectors. Secondly the population is becoming greyer. Fifteen percent of the UK's population is over 64 years old. Th rate of spending amongst retired people are rising faster than any other age groups. 

Location   

Nearly every economic activity- whether it be a quarry, a factory or a shop- is found in a particular place for good reasons. Those reason are called location factors. For many services within the tertiary  sector, a common need is to be readily accessible to customers.
The key location in the centre of cities and towns, in the central business districts (CBD). CBDs are accessible because this is where the urban transport networks, public and private, converge.