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The three-sector hypothesis is an economic
Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
 theory which divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials (primary
Primary sector of industry

The primary sector of the economy involves changing natural resources into primary products. Most products from this sector are considered raw materials for other industries....
), manufacturing (secondary
Secondary sector of industry

The secondary sector of the economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the tertiary sector and the primary sector . Sometimes an additional sector, the "quaternary sector", is defined for the sharing of information ....
), and services (tertiary
Tertiary sector of industry

The tertiary sector of economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector and the primary sector . Sometimes an additional sector, the "quaternary sector", is defined for the sharing of information ....
). It was developed by Colin Clark
Colin Clark

Colin Grant Clark was a United Kingdom economist and statistician who worked in both the United Kingdom and Australia, and who pioneered the use of the gross national product as the basis for studying national economies....
 and Jean Fourastié
Jean Fourastié

Jean Fourasti? was a France economist, notable for having coined the expression Trente Glorieuses to describe the period of prosperity that France experienced from the end of World War II until the 1973 oil crisis ....
.

According to the theory the main focus of an economy's activity shifts from the primary, through the secondary and finally to the tertiary sector. Fourastié saw the process as essentially positive, and in The Great Hope of the Twentieth Century he writes of the increase in quality of life
Quality of life

Quality of life is the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group of people.Quality of life cannot be measured directly, however the perception of QOL is made up of of two components: the physical and the psychological....
, social security, blossoming of education and culture, higher level of qualifications, humanisation of work, and avoidance of unemployment
Unemployment

File:World map of countries by rate of unemployment.pngUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work, but the person is without Wage labour....
.

Countries with a low per capita income
Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
 are in an early state of development; the main part of their national income is achieved through production in the primary sector.






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The three-sector hypothesis is an economic
Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
 theory which divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials (primary
Primary sector of industry

The primary sector of the economy involves changing natural resources into primary products. Most products from this sector are considered raw materials for other industries....
), manufacturing (secondary
Secondary sector of industry

The secondary sector of the economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the tertiary sector and the primary sector . Sometimes an additional sector, the "quaternary sector", is defined for the sharing of information ....
), and services (tertiary
Tertiary sector of industry

The tertiary sector of economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector and the primary sector . Sometimes an additional sector, the "quaternary sector", is defined for the sharing of information ....
). It was developed by Colin Clark
Colin Clark

Colin Grant Clark was a United Kingdom economist and statistician who worked in both the United Kingdom and Australia, and who pioneered the use of the gross national product as the basis for studying national economies....
 and Jean Fourastié
Jean Fourastié

Jean Fourasti? was a France economist, notable for having coined the expression Trente Glorieuses to describe the period of prosperity that France experienced from the end of World War II until the 1973 oil crisis ....
.

According to the theory the main focus of an economy's activity shifts from the primary, through the secondary and finally to the tertiary sector. Fourastié saw the process as essentially positive, and in The Great Hope of the Twentieth Century he writes of the increase in quality of life
Quality of life

Quality of life is the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group of people.Quality of life cannot be measured directly, however the perception of QOL is made up of of two components: the physical and the psychological....
, social security, blossoming of education and culture, higher level of qualifications, humanisation of work, and avoidance of unemployment
Unemployment

File:World map of countries by rate of unemployment.pngUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work, but the person is without Wage labour....
.

Countries with a low per capita income
Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
 are in an early state of development; the main part of their national income is achieved through production in the primary sector. Countries in a more advanced state of development, with a medium national income, generate their income mostly in the secondary sector. In highly developed countries with a high income, the tertiary sector dominates the total output of the economy.

Structural transformation according to Fourastié


The distribution of the workforce among the three sectors progresses through different stages as follows, according to Fourastié:

First phase: Traditional civilizations


Workforce quotas:
  • Primary sector: 70%
  • Secondary sector: 20%
  • Tertiary sector: 10%


This phase represents a society which is scientifically not yet very developed, with a negligble use of machine
Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
ry. The state of development corresponds to that of European countries in the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, or that of a modern-day developing country
Developing country

A developing country is a country that has often low standards of democracy, industrialisation, Social work, and Human rights for its citizens....
.

Second phase: Transitional period


Workforce quotas:
  • Primary sector: 20%
  • Secondary sector: 50%
  • Tertiary sector: 30%


More machinery is deployed in the primary sector, which reduces the number of workers needed. As a result the demand for machinery production in the second sector increases. The transitional phase begins with an event which can be identified with industrialisation
Industrialisation

Industrialization is the process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a pre-industrial society into an industry one....
: far-reaching mechanisation (and therefore automation) of manufacture, such as the use of conveyor belt
Conveyor belt

A belt conveyor consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward....
s.

The tertiary sector begins to develop, as do the financial
Finance

The field of finance refers to the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated. Banks are the main facilitators of funding through the provision of credit, although private equity, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other organizations have become important....
 sector and the power of the state.

Third phase: Tertiary civilization


Workforce quotas:
  • Primary sector: 10%
  • Secondary sector: 20%
  • Tertiary sector: 70%


The primary and secondary sectors are increasingly dominated by automisation, and the demand for workforce numbers falls in these sectors. It is replaced by the growing demands of the tertiary sector. The situation now corresponds to modern-day industrial societies and the society of the future, the service or post-industrial society. Today the tertiary sector has grown to such an enormous size that it is sometimes further divided into an information-based quaternary sector (see above), and even a quinary sector based on non-profit services.

See also


  • Jean Fourastié
    Jean Fourastié

    Jean Fourasti? was a France economist, notable for having coined the expression Trente Glorieuses to describe the period of prosperity that France experienced from the end of World War II until the 1973 oil crisis ....
  • Primary sector of the economy
  • Secondary sector of the economy
  • Tertiary sector of the economy
  • Quaternary sector of the economy
  • Quinary sector of the economy
    Quinary sector of the economy

    The quinary sector of the economy is the Industrial sector of industry suggested by some economists as comprising health, education, culture, research, police, fire service, and other government industries not intended to make a profit....
  • Information Revolution
  • De-industrialization crisis


Further reading

  • Bernhard Schäfers: Sozialstruktur und sozialer Wandel in Deutschland. (Social structure and social change in Germany) Lucius und Lucius, Stuttgart 7th edition 2002
  • Rainer Geißler: Entwicklung zur Dienstleistungsgesellschaft. In: Informationen zur politischen Bildung. (Information for political education) Nr. 269: Sozialer Wandel in Deutschland/2000 (social change in Germany), p. 19f.
  • Jean Fourastié: Die große Hoffnung des 20. Jahrhunderts. (great hope of the 20iest century) Köln-Deutz 1954
  • Hans Joachim Pohl: Kritik der Drei-Sektoren-Theorie. In: Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung. (notices from the work market and profession research) Heft 4/year 03/1970, p. 313-325
  • Stefan Nährlich: Dritter Sektor: "Organisationen zwischen Markt und Staat." (organizations between market and state). from the sequel: "Theorie der Bürgergesellschaft" des Rundbriefes Aktive Bürgerschaft ("Theory of the civil society" of the newsletter active civil society) current 4/2003
  • Uwe Staroske: Die Drei-Sektoren-Hypothese: Darstellung und kritische Würdigung aus heutiger Sicht (the Three-sector-hypothesis: presentation and critical honoration from a contemporary view). Roderer Verlag, Regensburg 1995