CONTEMPORARY

WORLD
MODULE 2

Activity 1. Follow the Product

A. Choose a specific foreign brand of the following products. (Coffee, sports car, laptop, hamburger,
wristwatch, shoes).
- SHOES
B. List down the main ingredient or a raw material in manufacturing of the following product (coffee,
sports car, laptop, hamburger, wristwatch, shoes). Identify the corresponding country from which each
ingredient/raw material came from.
-I choose shoes, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia are the top producers of rubber around the world. Eva
foam is a very environmentally friendly material used in many shoes. The main producers of
Eva Foam are located in China. EVA stands for Ethylene Vinyl Acetate.
C. Identify the countries involved in the manufacturing of the said products (coffee, sports car, laptop,
hamburger, wristwatch, shoes). Indicate the corresponding service the country does for the production of
such products (e.g., Costa Rica - planting of coffee beans).
1. China (12.6 billion pairs per year) China has led the shoe manufacturing business for many years
now, and remains to do so with its 12.6 billion pairs of shoes produced annually today. Its total annual
production is huge compared to the total production of some groups of exporters in other countries. A
large domestic market, minimum wage increases and overtime pay throughout China (which give
domestic consumers more discretionary income), and a stronger currency all help in maintaining
such a huge output.
2. India (2.1 billion pairs per year) India comes in second, with its annual production of 2.1 billion
pairs of shoe wear per year. Its production has increased by 50 percent in recent years. High quality
and low price leather and labor has made such an increase possible. It also helped that Indian excise
taxes were lowered to 6 percent recently. Indian shoemakers' major focuses are on men's shoe wear.
3. Brazil (895 million pairs per year) comes in with 895 million pairs of shoes in annual production, a
figure that accounts for both its exports and domestic sales. Its high quality leather and low wages has
made this possible. The Brazilian shoe industry is also expanding its export market further still.
4. Vietnam (760 million pairs per year) ...
5. Indonesia (660 million pairs per year) ...
6. Pakistan (295 million pairs per year) ..
D. Aside from the Philippines, list other countries in which the following products (coffee, sports car,
laptop, hamburger, wristwatch, shoes) are sold.
-China produces the most shoes out of anywhere in the world, at 12.6 billion pairs of shoes every year.
E. Cite the kinds of technology that made possible the creation of the products (coffee, sports car, laptop,
hamburger, wristwatch, shoes). Consider communication and transportation.
-The impacts of information and communications technologies on transport are examined. First, the
wider context of global change is outlined with the growth in the service and knowledge based
economy, the breakdown of trade barriers, and the development of new patterns of travel.
The more traditional views are briefly covered and discussed, and a case is made for longer term, more
subtle direct and indirect effects of technological innovation on transport. Three spheres of influence
are considered (production, living and working) to help structure the argument and to provide a
framework within which to investigate the different information and communications technology
applications in terms of their roles and impacts on transport. The review ends with three key
unresolved questions that relate to the future of transport demand and analysis, and three further
opportunities for using information and communications technology substantially to
increase transport efficiency

Activity 2. The Global Free Trade on Trial

Write an essay regarding economic globalization and then argue based on “Global free trade has done
more harm than good to the world economy”.