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quaternary economic activities — English
Gainful involvement with high-level technology, high-level information services, knowledge and know-how. Industry ranges from primary activities (farming, fishing, forestry and mining), to secondary activities (manufacturing and construction), to tertiary activities (professional services, hospitality, retailing and transport), to quaternary activities which require a high level of knowledge and technical expertise. (See “development”, “dual economy”, “developing countries” and “countries in transition (CITs)”, “secondary economic activities” and “tertiary activities”.) Theoretically, all countries (economies) pass through these phases of economic activity and most of the major economies in the world are now in the tertiary and quaternary phases. In some of the largest economies (for example the USA and England) manufacturing plays a rather small role in the economy while the tertiary and quaternary economic activities form the backbone of the economy. The risk inherent in such a situation became quite clear with the world-wide economic collapse in 2008. The highly developed economies of Western Europe and the USA were all severely hit, but the German economy was the notable exception. Since Germany still had a very strong manufacturing and industrial sector it was far less affected by the economic collapse. Some economies (for instance the USA, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and other European countries) are currently actively growing their neglected manufacturing sectors anew, while boosting their primary economic sector, in order to regain a healthier balance among their primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities. As a result of the 2008 economic collapse, it has become clear that a balance between all sectors of the economy is required to sustain a developed economy.
