1. Pro-globalists highlight the advantages of globalisation.
Do you agree with
their pro-globalist arguments, that globalisation is good?
Until 2008 going global, was a trend of various corporation, however in the aftermath of financial, weve entered a whole new different view of globalisation. Bremmer (2014) coin the term guarded globalization and it now comes with new costs and risks. Therefore, I would disagree with the pro-globalization argument, as there are a lot darker side of globalisation. Issues such as job losses, inequality in wealth distribution, instabilities and economic crises, erosion in culture and tradition, and also the erosion of sovereign of nation states are a few to name. Emerging market governments, have now found that it risky to continue opening industries to foreign competition, because local companies and consumers is at stake. For example, in February 2013 Indias Patent Of revoked Pfizers patent for the cancer drug Sutent and granted a domestic manufacturer, Cipla, the right to produce a cheaper generic version to give it consumers more access to it. According to Bremmer (2014), leaders from emerging market now knows that the market is crucial to growing the economy and improving living standards. They also realize that if they allow the market to decide which companies win, they risk losing political power and they will no longer control job creation and its citizens living standards. Ismail (2007) quoted the work of Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa, points the finger to large global cooperation that practices of downsizing, restructuring and relocation of production to cheap labour country as indirectly lowering workers earning power thus leads to poverty. Asteriou, Dimelis & Moudatsou (2014) also suggested that financial globalization factors, mainly FDI, have been responsible for the increase of inequality in the EU-27 in recent years. Globalisation forces have impacts on local values and cultures as well. Most notable is what is known as MTV culture have erode local values and heritage culture. In Malaysia for example, youngers now know more about American music
or more lately the K-Pop rather than their local folk music and heritage. This sad event is the collateral damage created by globalisation which somehow maybe not be reversible. In summary, I also would agree with Sanchez (2003) that while globalization can help to accelerate economic growth but it should not be viewed as a reliable substitute for a domestic development strategy. Globalization also has an important impact on regional inequality (i.e., inequality across the various regions within a country) worldwide (Ezcurra and Rodrguez-Pose, 2013). In China openness to international trade and capital flows have benefited mostly to the developed coastal regions, often at the expense of the less accessible and poorer inland provinces (World Bank, 2008). globalisation through foreign trade and FDI indeed played an important role in worsening Chinese regional inequality (Zhang and Zhang, 2003). This suggest that the process of trade liberalization has played a role in explaining the increase in the level of regional inequality registered over the last decades. Reference World Bank (2008). World development report 2009: Reshaping economic geography. Washington, DC: World Bank. Ezcurra, R., & Rodrguez-Pose, A. (2013). Does Economic Globalization affect Regional Inequality? A Cross-country Analysis. World Development, 52, 92- 103. Zhang, X., & Zhang, K. H. (2003). How does globalisation affect regional inequality within a developing country? Evidence from China. Journal of Development Studies, 39(4), 47-67.
2. Is globalisation resulting in countries becoming more convergent (similar)? Why?
Yes, there are various evidences that globalization have resulted that countries become more convergent. This is best describe by the metaphor of a shrinking world, the idea that the world is becoming one world in some important sense in which it has not been one before (Singer 2002). The era of globalization is largely based on the Wests values, in particular Americas assumptions that everyone wants to live as they do, with scholars calling it as "McDonaldization" . McDonaldization theory (Clark and Mathur, 2003), argues that cultural influence flows primarily from the United States to the rest of the world. Culture which includes media products, consumable goods that assume iconic status as symbols of modernity, foods and clothing styles (Boli and Lechner, 2001). In most part of world, we can see that younger generation particularly have a common hangout place, that is McDonalds which can be found through the world. Another popular American brand which have made an in road globally is Starbucks. In one sense it refers to the emergence of a single, global business civilization (Martens and Raza, 2010). internationalization may be defined as the process of the firms becoming integrated in international economic activities. The term integration covers both cases of push and pull, and provides a more comprehensive formulation, seeing the global economy as pre-existing and offering resources to the firm which seeks strategic involvement at this level.
Amongst factors which facilitates this convergent is increasing cross-border flows of capital, know-how and goods. The catalyst for this flow is the advancement in communications and transportation technology. In the past decade also saw increasing numbers of countries pursuing free market ideology.
UK is attempting to limit immigration, the USA is considering raising trade barriers with China, the G20 is attempting to impose more regulatory controls on the financial industry. Reference: Boli, J., & Lechner, F. J. (2001). Globalization and world culture.
Globalisation has brought positive impacts to governments and has resulted more economic development for its people. Gurgul and Lach (2014) found strong and robust evidence of growth-stimulating effect of globalization processes, especially in social and economic dimensions. For example, the Chinese government has made a decision to be one of the members of World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 11 December 2001. With that membership, it experienced the upgrading of a significant number of Chinese companies into the status of international company with strong brand. Huawei Technologies and Haier, among few companies that have achieved higher global sales compared to their domestic sales as a result of Chinese economy embracing globalization.
The metaphor of a shrinking world, the idea that the world is becoming one world in some important sense in which it has not been one before (Singer 2002), or the belief that there has recently been an unprecedented increase in a cross- border interdependence, similarities and integration. Sutcliffe and Glyn (2003), define globalization as the increasing international integration of economic activity.
Globalisation has brought positive impacts to governments in a longer time frame. Globalisation has resulted more economic development for its people. Besides, it has expended the countries infrastructure and more jobs are created. Looking more specifically, government of China has made a decision to be one of the members of World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 11 December 2001. With that membership, it experienced the upgrading of a significant number of Chinese companies into the status of international company. For example, Huawei Technologies and ZTE Cooperation, among few companies that have achieved higher global sales compared to their domestic sales as a result. In the year of 2004, the percentage of foreign investment in China stood at 15.4%. It grew rapidly and reached 19.2% in the year of 2005 and climb to 24.6% in the year of 2006. It shot up by 10% in 2007 and grown slightly in the year of 2008 reaching 35.1%. Pro-globalisation has highlighted that
Gurgul & Lach (2014) found strong and robust evidence of growth-stimulating effect of globalization processes, especially in social and economic dimensions. On the other hand, the role of political dimension of globalization was not found to be statistically significant in any research variant.
Nazari quoted the work of Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa. Chossudovsky points the finger to large global cooperation that practices of downsizing, restructuring and relocation of production to cheap labour country as indirectly lowering workers earning power thus leads to poverty. Asteriou, Dimelis & Moudatsou (2014) suggests that financial globalization factors, mainly FDI, have been responsible for the increase of inequality in the EU-27 in recent years. State capitalism, which distorts the workings of free markets and thus considerably alters globalization, has become popular in emerging markets other than China,
such as Russia, India, and Brazil (Bremmer, 2014). In order for governments to stay in power, leaders in these countries supports autocratic or corruption because they know that the market is crucial to growing the economy and improving living standards. According to Bremmer (2014), they also realize that if they allow the market to decide which companies win, they risk losing political power and they will no longer control job creation and its citizens living standards.
Reference Sutcliffe, B., & Glyn, A. (2003). Measures of globalisation and their misinterpretation. The handbook of globalisation, 61-78. Gurgul, H., & Lach, . (2014). Globalization and economic growth: Evidence from two decades of transition in CEE. Economic Modelling, 36, 99-107. Asteriou, D., Dimelis, S., & Moudatsou, A. (2014). Globalization and income inequality: A panel data econometric approach for the EU27 countries.Economic Modelling, 36, 592-599. Bremmer, I. (2014). The New Rules of Globalization. Harvard Business Review Ismail, N. (2007). The globalisation debate: a case of barking up the wrong tree. University of Malaya Press