The state of globalisation

Is globalisation declining? What is the future of globalisation?

Applying knowledge to P1: Critical thinking exercise

Applying knowledge to P2: AQ Skills

1) Watch at least 2 videos in this section.

2) How would you use the insights from the videos in your response to the 2019 'A' level P1 question: 'Is globalisation to be welcomed or feared today?'

3) How would you respond to the ideas raised by the speakers? Use your society and you own experience in your response.

Economic decoupling: Is globalisation dying or transforming?

This year's World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos was a more anxious affair than usual. The received wisdom that international trade creates a more peaceful world is being challenged. Now people talk of 'the end of globalisation' and a new order to world trade.

In this DW Business Special, they discuss whether globalisation is a thing of the past or whether it's simply morphing into something else.

Duration: 20:32

Globalisation isn't declining, it's transforming.

Today’s headlines suggest that globalisation is on the decline, but researcher Arindam Bhattacharya argues that it’s not going extinct -- it’s evolving.

Old globalisation was traditionally measured in goods traded. New globalisation, as Bhattacharya describes, can be measured in cross-border data flow (which by 2025 could be worth more than the world’s exports combined).

In other words, the world economy is far from dead -- it’s growing. Bhattacharya shares insights into this new normal and what it means for the world as we know it.

Duration: 11:18

The End of Globalisation (and the beginning of something new)

"Globalisation is on its deathbed," says economist Mike O'Sullivan. The question now is: What's next?

Tracing the historical successes and failures of globalisation, O'Sullivan forecasts a new world order where countries come together over shared values rather than geography. Learn how big regional powers like the United States and China will be driven by distinct ways of governing trade, technology and people -- while smaller nations will forge new alliances to solve problems.

Duration: 13:36

Why will future globalisation be so different?

Are you ready for future globalisation? Everyone knows about the rise of the robots, but the same digital technologies are also creating a new "virtual" globalisation – where talented foreigners sitting abroad can work alongside us in our offices. Due to advanced telecommunications and machine translation, it will seem almost as if these "tele-migrants" are actually there and speaking the same language. Think of it as the "gig" economy gone global. Richard’s talk illuminates a path to preparing for the changes. Richard Baldwin is Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, having served, in 1990, as a Senior Staff Economist in the White House. His 2016 book, The Great Convergence: Information technology and the New Globalisation, was cited by Lawrence Summers as one of the 5 most important books on globalisation ever, and listed among the Financial Times’ Best Books of 2016.

Duration: 13:56

Summary: benefits and problems associated with globalisation

Benefits

Solves economic problems.

- Globalisation moves jobs and capital to places that need these resources. It gives rich countries access to lower cost resources and labor and poorer countries access to jobs and the investment funds they need for development.

Promotes free trade.

- Globalisation puts pressure on nations to reduce tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to free trade. This consequently promotes economic growth, creates jobs, makes companies more competitive and lowers prices for consumers.

Spurs economic development.

- Theoretically, globalisation gives poorer countries access to foreign capital and technology they would not otherwise have. Foreign investment can result in an improved standard of living for the citizens of those nations.

Encourages positive trends in human rights and the environment.

- Advocates of globalisation point to improved attention to human rights on a global scale and a shared understanding of the impact of people and production on the environment.

Promotes shared cultural understanding.

- Advocates view the increased ability to travel and experience new cultures as a positive part of globalisation that can contribute to international cooperation and peace.

Problems

Destabilises markets.

1. - Critics of globalisation blame the elimination of trade barriers and the freer movement of people for undermining national policies and local cultures.
  - Labor markets in particular are affected when people move across borders in search of higher paying jobs or companies outsource work and jobs to lower cost labor markets.

Damages the environment.

1. - The transport of goods and people among nations generates greenhouse gas and all the negative effects it has on the environment.
  - Global travel and trade also can introduce, sometimes inadvertently, invasive species to foreign ecosystems. Industries such as fishing and logging tend to go where business is most lucrative or regulations are less strict, which has resulted in overfishing and deforestation in some parts of the world.

Lowers living standards.

1. - When companies move operations overseas to minimise costs, such moves can eliminate jobs and increase unemployment in sectors of the home country.

Facilitates global recessions.

1. - Tightly integrated global markets carry a greater risk of global recessions. The 2007-2009 financial crisis and Great Recession is a good example of how intertwined global markets are and how financial problems in one country or region can quickly affect other parts of the world.
  - Globalisation reduces the ability of individual nations to effectively use monetary and fiscal policy to control the national economy.

Damages cultural identities.

1. - Critics of globalisation decry the decimation of unique cultural identities and languages that comes with the international movement of businesses and people.
  - At the same time, the internet and social media are driving this trend even without the movement of people and commerce.

Increases the likelihood of pandemics.

1. - Increased travel, critics say, has the potential to increase the risk of pandemics.
  - The H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak of 2009 and coronavirus in 2020 and 2021 are two examples of serious diseases that spread to multiple nations quickly.

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