Introduction

The Encyclopedia of Global Industries continues to serve as a key source for inquiries into industry sectors on a global scale. No other publication or electronic database offers the same level of international breadth and industry depth as the Encyclopedia of Global Industries, and few rival it in currency and accessibility.

This volume contains 125 articles in 23 chapters spanning industry topics from agriculture and mining to semiconductors and engineering services. Each entry lays out an overview of current trends, background on past developments, and profiles of leading companies and countries. Significant data and trends are illustrated in hundreds of tables and charts, and a list of references for further research is supplied for every topic.

For the convenience of experienced researchers, the encyclopedia continues to identify industry topics with corresponding categories from the U.S. government's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system; however, as many readers will note, this system is gradually being phased out by the government in favor of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) published in 1997, and industry profiles reflect and address the use of this system. Both systems are widely used by business and economic researchers to provide a common statistical and conceptual language for the study of industry. Although the encyclopedia's topics do not strictly follow either system, as in many cases the editors have fashioned the industry topics to best reflect the current structure of industry, a concordance between the two classification systems is provided as an appendix. To aid users in understanding the focus of each article, an industry definition paragraph appears at the beginning.

HOW TOPICS ARE CHOSEN

The present roster of 125 topics has evolved from two main sources, as well as through the development of past editions. Many were suggested by panels of business experts from academia and business libraries. The remainder were selected by the editors based on such criteria as the annual revenue size of the global industry, the popularity of the topic among...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT