Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by

GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world.

Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people—and, later, corporations—have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. Likewise, for centuries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

But policy and technological developments of the past few decades have increased cross-border trade, investment, and migration so large that many observers believe the world has entered a qualitatively new phase in its economic development.

In the years since the Second World War many governments have adopted free-market economic systems, vastly increasing their own productive potential and creating new opportunities for international trade and investment. Governments also have negotiated dramatic reductions in barriers to commerce and have established international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investment. Taking advantage of new opportunities in foreign markets, corporations have built foreign factories and established production and marketing arrangements with foreign partners. A defining feature of globalization, therefore, is an international industrial and financial business structure.

Technology has been the other principal driver of globalization. Advances in information technology, in particular, have dramatically transformed economic life.

Globalization is deeply controversial, however. Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living, while opponents of globalization claim that the creation of an unfettered international free market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people. Resistance to globalization has therefore taken shape both at a popular and at a governmental level as people and governments try to manage the flow of capital, labor, goods, and ideas that constitute the current wave of globalization.

To find the right balance between benefits and costs associated with globalization, citizens of all nations need to understand how globalization works and the policy choices facing them and their societies.

Questions to the text

1. What is the globalization?

2. What does globalization effect?

3. What is the history of globalization?

4. How does globalization develop?

5. Can globalization exist without trade and commerce? Why?

6. What role does Government play in the process of globalization?

7. What are the advantages of globalization?

8. What do the principals drive the globalization?

9. Why globalization is very controversial subject?

10. What are the disadvantages of globalization?

11. What benefits does our country have from globalization?

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is a complex and controversial issue. This is a look at some of the main benefits and costs associated with the greater globalization of the world economy.

Globalization – the process of increased integration and co-operation of different national economies. It involves national economies becoming increasingly inter-related and integrated.

Globalization has involved:

Greater free trade.

Greater movement of labour.

Increased capital flows.

Growth of Multi-national companies.

Increased integration of global trade cycle.

Increased communication and improved transport, effectively reducing barriers between countries.

Benefits of Globalization

1. Free Trade. Free trade is a way for countries to exchange goods and resources. This means countries can specialize in producing goods where they have a comparative advantage (this means they can produce goods at a lower opportunity cost). When countries specialize there will be several gains from trade:

Lower prices for consumers

Greater choice of goods

Bigger export markets for domestic manufacturers

Economies of scale through being able to specialize in certain goods

Greater competition

2. Free Movement of Labour

Increased labour migration gives advantages to both workers and recipient countries. If a country experiences high unemployment, there are increased opportunities to look for work elsewhere. This process of labour migration also helps reduce geographical inequality. This has been quite effective in the EU, with many Eastern European workers migrating west.

Also, it helps countries with labour shortages fill important posts. For example, the UK needed to recruit nurses from the far east to fill shortages.

However, this issue is also quite controversial. Some are concerned that free movement of labour can cause excess pressure on housing and social services in some countries. Countries like the US have responded to this process by actively trying to prevent migrants from other countries.

3. Increased Economies of Scale.

Production is increasingly specialized. Globalization enables goods to be produced in different parts of the world. This greater specialization enables lower average costs and lower prices for consumers.

4. Greater Competition

Domestic monopolies used to be protected by lack of competition. However, globalization means that firms face greater competition from foreign firms.

5. Increased Investment

Globalization has also enabled increased levels of investment. It has made it easier for countries to attract short term and long term investment. Investment by multinational companies can play a big role in improving the economies of developing countries.

Costs Of Globalization

Free Trade can Harm Developing Economies.

Developing countries often struggle to compete with developed countries; therefore it is argued free trade benefits developed countries more. There is an infant industry argument which says industries in developing countries need protection from free trade to be able to develop. However, developing countries are often harmed by tariff protection Western economies have on agriculture. Paradox of Free Trade

Environmental Costs

One problem of globalization is that it has increased the use of non renewable resources. It has also contributed to increased pollution and global warming. Firms can also outsource production to where environmental standards are less strict. However, arguably the problem is not so much globalization as a failure to set satisfactory environmental standards.

Labour Drain

Globalization enables workers to move more freely. Therefore, some countries find it difficult to hold onto their best skilled workers, who are attracted by higher wages elsewhere.

Less Cultural Diversity

Globalization has led to increased economic and cultural hegemony. With globalization there is arguably less cultural diversity, however it is also led to more options for some people.

Questions to the text

1. What is globalization?

2. What are the benefits from globalization?

3. What process is globalization involved in?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages from globalization in trade/ free movement labour/ increased economies of scale/ increased investment and so on?

5. How does globalization impact on environment?

6. Why does labour drain threaten countries?

7. How does globalization influence the cultures of different counties?

8. What is the cost of globalization?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04