Suchergebnisse

Globalisation is a complex phenomenon; it is the interactive co-evolution of millions of technological, cultural, economic, social and environmental trends at all conceivable spatiotemporal scales. Given this complexity, any attempt to give a satisfactory definition of globalisation is doomed to failure. Rather, it makes sense to take a pluralistic approach, analysing past and current processes taking place in multiple domains. In this paper we therefore identify key historical landmarks of economic, political, technological, socialcultural, and environmental developments that have pushed the process of globalisation further. Using the globalisation timeline prevents a simplification of the complexities involved in approaching globalisation, while allowing a flexible definition of contemporary globalisation.

It is clear that globalisation is something more than a purely economic phenomenon manifesting itself on a global scale. Among the visible manifestations of globalisation are the greater international movement of goods and services, financial capital, information and people. In addition, there are technological developments, more international cultural exchanges, facilitated by the freer trade of more differentiated products as well as by tourism and immigration, changes in the political landscape and ecological consequences. In this paper, we link the Maastricht Globalisation Index with Sustainability Indices to analyse if more globalised countries are doing better in terms of sustainable development and its dimensions. The results seem to suggest that the process of globalisation may render world development more sustainable.

This book examines the way in which conceptions of equality are being challenged by increasing globalisation, analysing the significant opportunities for equality both within states and internationally.

A review essay on books by (1) Jagdish Bhagwati, Free Trade Today (Princeton, NJ: Princeton U Press, 2002); (2) Samy Cohen, La resistance des etats: les democraties face aux defis de la mondialisation ([The Resistance of States: Democracies vis-a-vis the Challenges of Globalization] Paris: Seuil, 2003); (3) Richard Peet (Ed), Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank and WTO (London: Zed, 2003); (4) Roger B. Porter, Pierre Sauve, Arvind Subramanian, & Americo Beviglia Zampetti (Eds), Efficiency, Equity, Legitimacy: The Multilateral Trading System at the Millennium (Washington, DC: Brookings Instit, 2001); (5) James D. Tracy (Ed), The Political Economy of Merchant Empires: State Power and World Trade 1350-1750 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge U Press, [1991], 1997); (6) Diana Tussie (Ed), Trade Negotiations in Latin America: Problems and Prospects (New York: Palgrave, Macmillan, 2003); & (7) Rorden Wilkinson (Multilateralism and the World Trade Organisation: The Architecture and Extension of International Trade Regulation (London: Routledge, 2000).

This paper addresses a complex of globalization issues: the effect of globalization on the skill premium; the effect of globalization on unemployment; the relative importance of globalization and exogenous technical change; the effect of globalization on the ability of national governments to conduct independent social policies. Thinking about these topics has been dominated by a large empirical literature concluding that trade has played a relatively minor role in the rise of the skill premium, while exogenous skill-biased technical change has played a major role. This paper replaces the focus on inter-sectoral substitution at the heart of the Stolper-Samuelson theorem with attention to intra-sectoral relations between inputs. Specifically, I assume that out-sourcing and unskilled labor are highIy substitutable and that equipment and skilIed labor are complementary , that production methods are flexible, and that the country undertaking out-sourcing has a significantIy different structure from that providing it. Globalization then offers a simple and immediate possible explanation for the prominent stylized facts regarding the emergence of the skill premium and for the presence of skill-biased technical change. Trade vs. technology remains as an empirical issue, though, because exogenous neutral technological change offers an alter-native possible explanation.