Globalization, production, employment and poverty: debates and evidence

✍ Scribed by Rhys Jenkins

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 158 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0954-1748
• DOI: 10.1002/jid.1059

✦ Synopsis

The impact of globalization is one of the most controversial development issues of the day. Globaphobes attribute most of the ills of the world to globalization. The anti-globalization movement has focused attention on the extent to which decisions affecting the lives of millions of the world's poorest people are made in international fora at which they have no voice. Globalization is seen as marginalizing a large part of the world's population and contributing to increased international inequality. On the other hand, globaphiles see extending globalization as the key to eliminating world poverty. They point to the rapid economic growth of countries which have integrated with the global economy and the poverty reduction achieved in countries such as China and Vietnam which have opened up their economies in recent years.

Part of the debate arises from very different views of what constitutes globalization. The anti-globalization movement often equates globalization with neo-liberal policies including privatization and domestic deregulation. On the other hand the supporters of globalization tend to define it much more narrowly, often equating it with trade liberalization or greater economic openness of national economies. Here we define globalization as a process of greater integration within the world economy through movements of goods and services, capital, technology and (to a lesser extent) labour, which lead increasingly to economic decisions being influenced by global conditions.

There is also debate over the meaning and measurement of poverty. Even if one puts to one side the question of whether poverty is a relative or an absolute concept and focuses on