Wu 1

Raymond Wu
Dr. Gayle
English 812
14 April 2015
Economic Power in Globalization
Humans are influenced by many things in their daily life. These influences are then
turned into motivation for the person to continue with their endeavors. Just like humans,
countries around the world are constantly influencing one another; whether if its goods,
services, capital, ideas, or culture. There isnt just one specific country or nation that affects the
rest of the world, but it is a set of ideologies that is place upon the countries and then used to
make it their own. The economy plays a big part in globalization as this is what keeps the globe
spinning while maintaining relationships around the world. While it is true that the economy can
favor nations that are already rich in monetary earnings compared to developing or third world
countries, other aspects should also be taken into account. For instance, there are many
advantages of globalization in the economy which greatly outweighs the disadvantages of
globalization in the economy.
Having globalization can flourish many countries that are still developing and even the
countries that have already made their mark in the world. Many researchers who oppose
globalization in developing countries are because that they believe that the gap between the rich
and the poor will grow ever wider, with no chances of improvement (Ionescu 79). This should
not be the reason for people to disapprove of globalization. If anything, globalization will be like
oil to a clogged machine. It will help the poor and developing nations get off its foot and start
running more smoothly. Developing countries can borrow ideas from countries that are already

Wu 2

established so that it can kick start their economy. One way of borrowing ideas from established
countries would be taking something that is renowned such as McDonalds and making it unique
to the countries. Many countries have done this with the famous Big Mac made in the United
States. Each country has their own Big Mac that is uniquely made and fit into their culture
perfectly (Pells 249). They use the ideology of one successful country and changed it in ways
that can help improve their own country and economy. Another way that third world countries
can improve their economy is to invest in technology. With technology, things like
manufacturing can be done in a more efficient and reliable way rather than unorganized and
unnecessary steps if without technology. Also, technology can help improve ways of trading
among countries around the world.
Trading or exchanging goods and services is the main tool used for basic economics.
Bartering was the old fashioned version of trading where you make a trade a resource that you
have for a need. In todays world, people can use currencies to exchange for goods and services
around the world. Most importantly, the growth of international trade in service has increased
substantially but promises even greater growth in the future (Intriligator 488). One country or
nation does not have all the goods that they need so in order of fulfill the needs; they would need
to trade with other countries too. When countries are trading with others it is a form of
globalization that helps out each other. Because of the increase of international trade, the advance
of technological has never been more important. With the logical advances, they have
significantly lowered the costs of transportation and communication and dramatically lowered
the costs of data processing and information storage and retrieval (Intriligator 486) This also
gives the opportunity to developing countries that has a lot of resources to find trade partners and
earn money for exporting materials out of their country. With the money exported, they can now

Wu 3

import materials or goods that they originally did not have and be able to expand their economic
status some more. When there are more players in the economy, friendly competition can be
formed and fueled to even furthermore increase one nations economy.
How can competition be good for a nations economy? When there is competition, it
forces the best and only the best performance of the nation or else they cannot stay relevant
anymore. This competition fuels and helps drive the nation in the right direction. Even if a nation
may not be as competitive because of their developing economy or scarce resources, they are still
able to receive a few pointers that they did not know before. For example, Competition and the
widening of markets can lead to specialization and the division of labor (Intriligator 490).
Specialization is when a country or nation is more proficient in doing a specific task than other
countries. This can also mean that because they specialized on one specific task, they need to buy
or trade goods and services with other countries. As you can see, when a country specialized on
one task; not only can they benefit from the wants of others, but it can also benefit the rest of the
world. It is an ongoing cycle where countries and nations are specializing on a specific thing
while spending their profits on things that they do not specialize. This will not make developing
countries the underdogs in the competition as in the end the whole world is benefitting from this
cycle. With the increase of nations that are lifted from poverty or at least have an increase of jobs
this means that production of items will also increase. Efficiency now proves to be a valuable
asset of many countries because the more they produce the more profit theyll earn. Another
benefit of have a mass production from countries are that the more something is produced, the
less the price will be for the item. Countries will be able to purchase things at a lower price while
the original country not losing profit because more of the item will be brought which in turn

Wu 4

increases the revenue and profit. Developing countries have proven to be the benefiter of
globalization; not the disadvantaged.
Countries that have the economic power to help out developing countries not only benefit
themselves but the latter as well. Researchers have proven that Israeli impact on Pakistanis was
negative but it was because Pakistani and nearing territories were taken advantaged by Israeli
military governor (Samara 118). However, this is not the case if a nation or country is truly
sincere and willing to help a developing nation out. The country giving out the helping hand may
still benefit more from helping third world countries, but at least they are providing financial
assistance for them and giving them a kick start so that maybe theyll be in the position to help
out other countries one day. One example of countries that has the economic power to invest in
poorer countries would be China investments to Zambia. China has more than one hundred
forty officially recorded projects covering various sectors; by mid-2009, Chinese investment in
Zambia was projected to exceed US$ 1.5 billion (Carmody and Hampwaye 86). With this
immense amount of monetary investment, what is China getting out of this and why would they
do this? Providing money for Zambia creates more factories for China while also placing many
of the Chinese companies in the country too. When there are more companies and factories in a
specific nation, this means that more jobs will open up for the domestic country which isnt a bad
thing. For one, the country may not be rich in education so the opportunity for a job is always
welcomed. And lastly with the economy having a boost because of the investments, the
government is able to have more room to spread out their expenditures; whether if its for better
infrastructure, education, or back it its citizens.
At the end of the day, the main goal for countries are business firms maximize profit
that is, across which they search to find the cheapest places to produce and the most profitable

Wu 5

places to sell their goods and services. With todays communication and transportation
technologies, business firms increasingly search the globe on both of these dimensions (Thurow
20). Thurow provides many examples of business of different countries help each other out with
the process manufacturing of many of the external and internal parts. For example, A Toyota
that exports cars and auto components to Europe and Japanese investors who buy securitized
American home mortgages (Thurow 21). Again, this is an everlasting cycle where each country
is the beneficiary of the trades. There is not one country that loses from this cycle as it helps each
of their economy to keep running.
In conclusion, the advantages of globalization immensely outweigh the disadvantages of
globalization. With the influences of each country there are many benefits that come with
globalization. Developing countries around the globe are able to move up in economic standings
because of globalization. The future of international looks promising and stable for countries to
continue trading their goods and services. The competition between countries can help drive out
the best of ones nation without having to lose anything, but it may actually help the nation gain
an important aspect in economy. The important aspect would be specialization, in which a nation
is efficient and the best at a certain task which provides an important role in economy because it
keeps the trading going. Investments from countries that have more monetary funds than
developing countries can lend a helping hand to one another. Both of the countries benefit from
the investments and the receiver of the investment. And lastly, the main goal of globalization in
economy is gain the most profit which is what all businesses around the world is trying to
accomplish. Globalization in economy is a computer that runs most efficiently when the internal
and external parts (countries) work together and turned on when each part is doing its job
correctly (specialization); which shows the importance of all of the countries participating in it.

Wu 6

Works Cited
Carmody, Padriag, and Hampwaye Godfrey. Inclusive or Exclusive Globalization? Zambias
Economy and Asian Investment. AfricaToday, n.d. 86-101. Print.
Ionescu, Alexandru. Globalization vs Developing Economy. Romanian Economic and
Business Review, n.d. 77-82. Print.
Intriligator, Michael D. Globalization of the world economy: potential benefits and costs and a
net assessment. Journal of Policy Modeling, 25 May. 2004. 485-498. Print.
Pells, Richard. Does the World Still Care About American Culture? The Chronicle of Higher
Education, 8 Mar. 2009. 246-251. Print.
Samara, Adel. Globalization, the Palestinian Economy, and the Peace Process. Social Justice,
2000. 117-31. Print.
Thurow, Lester C. Globalization: The Product of a Knowledge- Based Economy. The Annals
Of The American Academy, Jul. 2000. 20-31. Print.