<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >
  • Define globalization and describe its manifestation in modern society
  • Discuss the pros and cons of globalization from an economic standpoint
A city skyline is shown here.
Instant communications have allowed many international corporations to move parts of their businesses to countries such as India, where their costs are lowest. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

What is globalization?

Globalization refers to the process of integrating governments, cultures, and financial markets through international trade into a single world market. Often, the process begins with a single motive, such as market expansion (on the part of a corporation) or increased access to healthcare (on the part of a nonprofit organization). But usually there is a snowball effect, and globalization becomes a mixed bag of economic, philanthropic, entrepreneurial, and cultural efforts. Sometimes the efforts have obvious benefits, even for those who worry about cultural colonialism, such as campaigns to bring clean-water technology to rural areas that do not have access to safe drinking water.

Other globalization efforts, however, are more complex. Let us look, for example, at the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The agreement is among the countries of North America, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico and allows much freer trade opportunities without the kind of tariffs (taxes) and import laws that restrict international trade. Often, trade opportunities are misrepresented by politicians and economists, who sometimes offer them up as a panacea to economic woes. For example, trade can lead to both increases and decreases in job opportunities. This is because while easier, more lax export laws mean there is the potential for job growth in the United States, imports can mean the exact opposite. As the United States import more goods from outside the country, jobs typically decrease, as more and more products are made overseas.

Many prominent economists believed that when NAFTA was created in 1994 it would lead to major gains in jobs. But by 2010, the evidence showed an opposite impact; the data showed 682,900 U.S. jobs lost across all states (Parks 2011). While NAFTA did increase the flow of goods and capital across the northern and southern U.S. borders, it also increased unemployment in Mexico, which spurred greater amounts of illegal immigration motivated by a search for work.

There are several forces driving globalization, including the global economy and multinational corporations that control assets, sales, production, and employment (United Nations 1973). Characteristics of multinational corporations include the following: A large share of their capital is collected from a variety of different nations, their business is conducted without regard to national borders, they concentrate wealth in the hands of core nations and already wealthy individuals, and they play a key role in the global economy.

We see the emergence of global assembly lines    , where products are assembled over the course of several international transactions. For instance, Apple designs its next-generation Mac prototype in the United States, components are made in various peripheral nations, they are then shipped to another peripheral nation such as Malaysia for assembly, and tech support is outsourced to India.

Questions & Answers

if three forces F1.f2 .f3 act at a point on a Cartesian plane in the daigram .....so if the question says write down the x and y components ..... I really don't understand
Syamthanda Reply
hey , can you please explain oxidation reaction & redox ?
Boitumelo Reply
hey , can you please explain oxidation reaction and redox ?
Boitumelo
for grade 12 or grade 11?
Sibulele
the value of V1 and V2
Tumelo Reply
advantages of electrons in a circuit
Rethabile Reply
we're do you find electromagnetism past papers
Ntombifuthi
what a normal force
Tholulwazi Reply
it is the force or component of the force that the surface exert on an object incontact with it and which acts perpendicular to the surface
Sihle
what is physics?
Petrus Reply
what is the half reaction of Potassium and chlorine
Anna Reply
how to calculate coefficient of static friction
Lisa Reply
how to calculate static friction
Lisa
How to calculate a current
Tumelo
how to calculate the magnitude of horizontal component of the applied force
Mogano
How to calculate force
Monambi
a structure of a thermocouple used to measure inner temperature
Anna Reply
a fixed gas of a mass is held at standard pressure temperature of 15 degrees Celsius .Calculate the temperature of the gas in Celsius if the pressure is changed to 2×10 to the power 4
Amahle Reply
How is energy being used in bonding?
Raymond Reply
what is acceleration
Syamthanda Reply
a rate of change in velocity of an object whith respect to time
Khuthadzo
how can we find the moment of torque of a circular object
Kidist
Acceleration is a rate of change in velocity.
Justice
t =r×f
Khuthadzo
how to calculate tension by substitution
Precious Reply
hi
Shongi
hi
Leago
use fnet method. how many obects are being calculated ?
Khuthadzo
khuthadzo hii
Hulisani
how to calculate acceleration and tension force
Lungile Reply
you use Fnet equals ma , newtoms second law formula
Masego
please help me with vectors in two dimensions
Mulaudzi Reply
how to calculate normal force
Mulaudzi
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Studying social life. OpenStax CNX. Sep 21, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11889/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Studying social life' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask