Quinary sector of the economy

Economic sectors
Three-sector hypothesis
Primary sector: raw materials Secondary sector: manufacturing Tertiary sector: services
Theorists
Colin Clark · Jean Fourastié
Additional sectors
Quaternary sector · Quinary sector
Sectors by ownership
Business sector · Private sector · Public sector · Voluntary sector

The quinary sector of the economy is defined by some to encompass health, culture, and research.

The main categories of industry today include the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The quinary sector could be seen as a further division of the tertiary sector, which is a part of the economy that provides services. Contemporary society is understood by some sociologists like Daniel Bell to be post-industrial and to this degree the quinary sector could be understood as a key area in which work is desirable and sought after by many of the middle classes, who often require formal study and education to work in this sector. Additionally where work in the manufacturing sector may once have been highly respectable and desirable, the globalized world of today with the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs has devalued the primary sector's symbolic importance or power. Affluent nations like to be seen as those that undertake research and provide services, and to this degree manufacturing is relatively hidden from plain view and everyday consciousness of the middle classes. The quinary sector is therefore one of symbolic and intellectual power as well.