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Raymond Wu
Dr. Gayle
English 812
23 April 2015
Economic Power in Globalization
Humans are influenced by many things in their daily life. These influences are then
turned into motivation for people to then continue on 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. These ideologies
are used by countries 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 trade 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 from trade which greatly outweighs the disadvantages of
globalization in trade.
Having globalization can flourish many countries that are still developing and even the
countries that have already made their mark in the world. Ionescu suggests that many researchers
who oppose globalization in developing countries is because they believe that the gap between
the rich and the poor will grow ever wider, with no chances of improvement (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

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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. Pells asserts that each country has their own Big Mac that is uniquely made and fit into
their culture perfectly (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, Intriligator states that the growth of international trade in
service has increased substantially but promises even greater growth in the future (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

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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 trade, friendly competition can be formed
and fueled to even furthermore increase one 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. 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 increases the revenue and profit. Developing countries

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have proven to be the benefiter of globalization; not the other way around, as being the country
that is being taken advantage of.
Countries that have the economic power to help out developing countries not only benefit
themselves but the latter as well. Samara states that 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 (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, China has to be getting something out of
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, Thurow states that the main goal for countries are business firms
maximize profitthat is, across which they search to find the cheapest places to produce and the

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most profitable places to sell their goods and services. With todays communication and
transportation technologies, business firms increasingly search the globe on both of these
dimensions (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 trade. As long as work is put in during the production
stages or all the stages, 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 from trade immensely outweigh the
disadvantages of trade. 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 trade. 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 trade
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 trade is to gain the most profit which is what all businesses around the world is
trying to accomplish. Globalization in trade is a computer that runs most efficiently when the
internal and external parts (countries) work together and when they are turned on. When each

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part is doing its job correctly (specialization); it shows the importance of all of the countries
participating in global trade.
Works Cited
Carmody, Padriag, and Hampwaye, Godfrey. Inclusive or Exclusive Globalization? Zambias
Economy and Asian Investment. AfricaToday, n.d. 86-101. 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.
Ionescu, Alexandru. Globalization vs Developing Economy. Romanian Economic and
Business Review, n.d. 77-82. 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.