Importance of the Quaternary Sector

The relevance of the quaternary sector is based on the fact of generating knowledge conditions that allow a greater development of different sectors of the economy. Indeed, let us remember that this sector corresponds to those services that are associated with a high intellectual content, such as investigation or those related to some areas of computing. These services were generally associated with the tertiary sector, but given the revolution that they can cause in terms of the productivity, some authors make the distinction by referring to a new sector. Today we can see a great transformation in the world economy, a transformation that is undoubtedly linked to the expansion of this area of ​​the economy.

It is worth taking a look at the different sectors of the economy to understand the phenomenon. In the first instance we will find the primary sector, a sector associated with the generation of raw materials, materials that are generally traded with little value added; on the other hand we have the secondary sector, a sector associated with the production of manufactures and that generally depends to a greater extent on capital goods; the third sector is that of services, that is, the sector that corresponds to activities that satisfy needs; Finally, with the fourth sector, an attempt is made to discriminate those services that have a high added value, a high specification.

Today, companies spend enormous resources to create new conditions that allow them to have some kind of advantage in the market. This circumstance requires services that imply a high degree of knowledge, a high degree of preparation. Innovation, the need to become more and more efficient today has become a obligation and this has enabled an environment in which services are demanded that are distinguished from the conventional.

Finally, it should be clarified that this type of service is generally booming in mature economies, economies where other sectors have already reached a high degree of development. Indeed, by itself the tertiary sector is a part of the economy that grows when there is already broad access to raw materials and manufactured services. He quaternary sector, for its part, grows when there is already a large service sector, it would be a evolution of this sector from a greater degree of complexity of the economy.