Globalization, oh that versitile villian!

The contemporary phase of economic globalization is regarded by some social scientists as a serious source of problems. There are others who, logically or illogically, consider it a negative, harmful, destructive, marginalizing and malevolent influence over economies and societies. No doubt, globalization can create opportunities for accelerating growth for the participating economies, but it can also pose myriad of challenges to and impose constraints on policymakers. In addition, it is justly blamed for uneven distribution of benefits from globalization. They are badly skewed within countries and between countries. Present policy environment is far from globalization-friendly. This paper focuses on the limitations of globalization in an objective and unbiased manner

Conceptual globalism and globalisation : an initiation

Although the use of these two terms began in the latter half of the twentieth century, they have a longer lineage. Concept economic globalism of contemporary kind can be traced back to the liberal thinking of classical economists like Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer. Terms like globalize were first seen in Reiser and Davies (1944). Webster International Dictionary included them in 1961, while they appeared in Oxford Dictionary in 1986. The term globalization was coined in 1962. Most major languages were quick to develop equivalent taxonomy. In business and economics, marketing legend Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School used it first in 1983 in an article entitled "The Globalization of Markets". His article is regarded as an enduring classic and its insightful language is still relevant today

Suspension of the Doha Round of Multilateral Negotiations and the Need for Its Resuscitation

The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTNs) has proved to be egregiously problem-prone. Due to deep dissension among WTO members it had to be suspended, and efforts to revive it have so far not succeeded. Although the mercantilist mindset of the participants has been frequently blamed for the consistently tardy progress of negotiations, there is more to the situation than just a mindset. This article methodically analyzes the various steps taken since the launch of the Doha Round and dwells on the challenges faced during the MTNs. Time and again negotiating members and country groups publicized their constructive intentions, and a series of official pronouncements provided a surfeit of evidence of commitment to the objectives of the Doha Development Agenda. Ironically, with the passage of time it became obvious that those expressions of positive and virtuous intentions were completely misleading. There was a large distance between what was being said and what was being achieved in terms of tangible agreements and core modalities. It is imperative that the Doha Round be resuscitated and that the key players show flexibility and take decisive steps forward. The round is vital; the community of trading economies must not be allowed to collapse. Virtually the entire global community of traders will share in and gain from the successful outcome of the Doha Round. A failure will force them to share the shortfalls. Revival is a possible and credible objective. This article proposes a two-stage revival process.Doha, failure, multilateral negotiations, progress, International Relations/Trade,

Special Treatment and Policy Space for the Developing Economies in the Multilateral Trade Regime

The contemporary multilateral trading system comprises members ranging from high- to very low-income countries; this range has a bearing on the operations of the multilateral trade regime. Presence of a large number of low-income members is the new systemic reality. Special and differential treatment (SDT) has operated for the developing economies, principally for the small, low-income ones, for many decades. The concept of SDT grew in three basic stages, on which this article elaborates. Theoretically this concept was meaningful and significant, but in reality it has not engendered substantial benefits to the intended beneficiary groups, the developing economies. The Uruguay and the Doha Rounds of multilateral trade negotiations (MTNs) reaffirmed faith in SDT. The Doha Development Agenda (DDA) was clear about reaffirming the importance of SDT to the multilateral trade regime and referred to it as an integral part of the WTO Agreement. During the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancún and the subsequent WTO meeting in Geneva in July 2004, small developing countries held together as the Group-of-Ninety (G-90). They made their presence felt in the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference as well. As SDT has not spawned large benefits for the target groups of countries, there is a pressing need to refine the concept. Academics and policy makers have debated over what future shape SDT should take so that it will be able to meet the expected goals. Taking these concerns into account, this article presents a comprehensive set of recommendations.International Relations/Trade,

Trade and global integration

This paper focuses on the post-war process of creation of a global trading system and integration of world trade. As the former came into being, multilateral trade liberalization became an on-going feature of the global economy facilitating international trade, consequently importance of international trade in the global economy increased dramatically. Since the mid-1980s, mindset of policy makers in the developing economies regarding trade policy began changing in a discernible manner. The high- and middle-income developing economies liberalized their trade policy regimes and tried to integrate with the global economy. Several developing economies were highly successful in integrating with the global economy through trade. The change in the mindset of policy mandarins was clearly visible during the Uruguay Round and the on-going Doha Rounds of multilateral trade negotiations. Although the industrial economies were the primary beneficiaries of the multilateral trade liberalization in the past, for the developing economies trade, particularly trade in manufacturing goods, went on increasing monotonically. The kaleidoscope of global trading system turned several times and international trade has enormously expanded over the preceding half century, which in turn contributed substantially to global integration through trade, albeit in a selective manner

South Asian free trade agreement: prospects of shallow regional integration

This paper essentially focuses on the belated regionalization attempts of the South Asian economies and myriad of problems that are coming in their way to forming a smoothly functioning free trade area and regional integration agreement. Notwithstanding their efforts, progress so far has been tardy. Although South Asian economies took several liberalization measures during the 1990-2005 period, this group of economies was the most highly protected group in the global economy in 2005. It lagged behind in opening its domestic economy to global competition as well as in attracting FDI. Furthermore, evidence of trade complementarity in South Asian economies is mixed so far, which made creation of an FTA a weak proposition. However, this paper recommends that despite lack of success, South Asian economies should continue their endeavors to regionalize. At present, these economies are at a low level of per capita income and economic development. As they move up their respective growth trajectories, they are likely to develop complementaries. If these economies continue to grapple with their current hurdles to regionalization, in the medium-term South Asian economies stand to gain in welfare terms even if they succeed in shallow regional integration

Globalization: a guide for the concerned policymaker

Although rolling back of globalization is feasible, the author contends that techno-economic forces will ensure its further expansion. The world economy will be more integrated tomorrow than today. Increasing number of countries and policy mandarins have begun to see the welfare effects of globalization and the constituency for it much larger than that against it. However, capitalizing from it is a challenge because globalization does entail some downside risks. This paper focuses on macroeconomic challenges emanating from the on-ward march of globalization. In the recent past, it has been observed that several globalizing economies suffered from volatility. Therefore, the author devotes a large part of this research to the vexing issue of volatility and how to manage it

China: Epitome of an Emerging Market

The essential objective of this article is to demonstrate that China, the largest emerging-market economy (EME), is surfeited with the characteristic features of an EME. It is well on its way to acquire the status of a matured industrial economy. The author follows China’s stellar growth path and the dramatic economic transformations that it underwent. The essential focus of this article is the characteristic features of the Chinese economy, like the status of the newly emerging private sector and the rapidly emerging middleclass. As rapid industrialization progressed, China not only has a leadership position in regional and global trade and foreign investment but also it became a hub of the global supply chains. It contributed to the global recovery from the Great Recession (2007-09) and helped stabilize the global economy

Winners of globalization

In itself globalization is neither good nor bad. Its economic impact can be both welfare-enhancing and dislocating. This paper dwells on the former, that is, the positive and constructive impact of the contemporary phase of globalization. It examines the evidence for its beneficial effect on several country groups as well as over the global economy. Without making any assertions of universality of positive impact of globalization, this article provides wide ranging evidence of its being a definitive transformative force for several economies and groups thereof. By successfully exploiting market-led outer-oriented development strategy and climbing the ladder of development by first producing and exporting labor-intensive manufactures and then switching to exports of capital- and technology-intensive manufactures several country groups integrated with the global economy and have commendable results to show. Global economic and financial integration on balance yielded rich dividends for many economies as well as the global economy. It concludes that, going by the available evidence, globalization on balance is a welfare-enhancing force

Financial flows and global integration

This paper focuses on the post-war process of creation of global trading system and integration of world trade. As the former came into being, multilateral trade liberalization became an on-going feature of the global economy facilitating international trade, consequently importance of international trade in the global economy increased dramatically. Since the mid-1980s, mindset regarding trade policy in the developing economies, particularly middle- and high-income ones, began changing in a discernible manner. They liberalized their trade policy regimes and tried to integrate with the global economy. Several developing economies were highly successful in integrating with the global economy through trade. The change in mindset of policy mandarins was clearly visible during the Uruguay and Doha Rounds of multilateral trade negotiations. Although the industrial economies were the primary beneficiaries of the multilateral trade liberalization, for the developing economies trade, particularly trade in manufacturing goods, went on increasing monotonically. The kaleidoscope of global trading system turned several times and international trade has enormously expanded over the preceding half century, which in turn contributed substantially to global integration through trade, albeit in a selective manner