One classical breakdown of economic activity distinguishes three sectors :
4-587: In the 20th century, economists began to suggest that traditional tertiary services could be further distinguished from " quaternary " and quinary service sectors. Economic activity in the hypothetical quaternary sector comprises information- and knowledge-based services, while quinary services include industries related to human services and hospitality . Economic theories divide economic sectors further into economic industries . An economy may include several sectors that evolved in successive phases: Even in modern times, developing countries tend to rely more on
8-722: The first two sectors, in contrast to developed countries . An economy can also be divided along different lines: Quaternary sector of the economy The quaternary sector of the economy is based upon the economic activity that is associated with either the intellectual or knowledge-based economy . This consists of information technology ; media ; research and development ; information-based services such as information -generation and information-sharing; and knowledge-based services such as consultation , entertainment , broadcasting , mass media , telecommunication , education , information technology , financial planning , blogging , and designing . Other definitions describe
12-419: The quaternary sector as pure services. This may consist of the entertainment industry , to describe media and culture , and government . This may be classified into an additional quinary sector. The term reflects the analysis of the three-sector model of the economy, in which the primary sector produces raw materials used by the secondary sector to produce goods, which are then distributed to consumers by
16-402: The tertiary sector. Contrary to this implied sequence, however, the quaternary sector does not process the output of the tertiary sector. It has only limited and indirect connections to the industrial economy characterized by the three-sector model. In a modern economy, the generation, analysis and dissemination of information is important enough to warrant a separate sector instead of being
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