GLOBALISATION AND

DEVELOPMENT
Definition of Globalisation
 Globalisation refers to the process that allows countries
from all over the world to communicate and do business
with each other efficiently and effectively than before.

 It involves countries removing barriers to trade,

investment, capital, information and the trading of
goods and services to improve their economies.

 The process has created a global village facilitated via

information technology, international trade and
investment
The purpose of globalisation includes the following:

 Increase in the sale of goods and services in local

and international markets.
 Acquisition of the means of production/ resources –
land, labour, capital and technology. Owning the
means of productions will give you wealth, power
and status.
 Economic diversification of goods and services
 Minimization of competitive risks for defensive
purpose
Characteristics of Globalisation
 The gradual increase of international organisations to
respond to the issues and challenges that result from
development for example, the World Trade
Organisation and the International Monetary Fund.
 The increased ability of companies to move money
and production quickly from country to country. For
instance, Transnational Corporations or global
conglomerates who invest in, or sometimes establish
businesses in other countries to gain advantage over
competitors
Characteristics of Globalisation cont’d
 Increase movement towards trade without barriers (trade
liberalisation). The market is therefore free from tariffs, taxes or
subsidies so goods and services traded on a free market facilitating
competition on a world market.

 The development of new technologies and modes of communications,

which often results in more controlling power by the developed
countries. For instance, the internet lowers the national barriers for
social interaction as citizen from all over the world communicate with
each other over long distances.

 Interdependence as the world is seen as one large market-

Developed countries control most of the world’s economy and so the
developing world is impacted by the events that occur in these
countries.
Forms of Globalisation
 Economic globalisation refers to various ways in
which developed countries invest in developing
countries as developed countries possess the capital
and technology to positively impact developing
economies as economic resources are transferred
from one country to another.
Forms of Globalisation
 Cultural Globalisation- refers to the transference of ideas,
beliefs, values, norms and symbols around the world
impacting the way people interact or socialize with one
another.
 Cultural globalization is facilitated by the nature of
satellite communication, telecommunication networks (cable
television), internet (social media) to name a few.
 The culture of the West tends to be highly influential and so
it infiltrates the societies of the south which is due largely to
the interest of media owners of the West. The result of this
transference of culture often times lead to cultural erasure
and assimilation in developing nations due to the dominant
culture of the developed nations.
Forms of Globalisation
 Political Globalisation- involves developed countries
establishing international organisations that are intent on
making the world safer and freer from conflicts.
 For example, The United Nations has belied expectations
but regional organisations such as the European Union, APEC
and the WTO have been established to improve political
and economic influence of g that member states.
 The member-states of these political organisations ensure
that governmental actions take in the international sphere
and geared toward protecting the welfare of citizens based
on the actions of the international political body.
Facilitators of Globalisation
 World Trade Organisation
 Economic Partnership Agreement
 International Monetary Fund
 World Bank
 Transnational Organisations
 Technology
 Ideologies: social, gender, economic, political
World Trade Organisation
 The World Trade Organisation main aim is that of
assessing and dealing with international trade issues but
also includes negations in investments, services and
intellectual property rights as well as enduring that
there is cooperation among international organisation.
 Globalisation has resulted in economic, social and
political issues which has caused many changes in both
developed and developing countries at the national
and intentional level. Goods and services are expected
to be traded in a free and open environment.
Economic Partnership Agreement

 The Economic Partnership Agreement was

formed to facilitate trade and
development negotiations agreements
between member states of the European
Union and the member states of the
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).
Facilitator of Development : EPA
 The Economic Partnership allowed the group of
15 Caribbean countries to sign a preferential
trade agreement with the European Union. The
agreement also made provisions for managing
competition, intellectual property and
copyright as well as government up trade
procurement.
 See: ec.europa.eu and CARIFORUM
Faciltators of Development : EPA
 The nature of the trade is to assist the developing
states of the ACP achieve some level development
by ensuring that trade agreements take into account
their socio-economic circumstances.

 EU has duty-free –quota-free market access to all

products from the Cariforum countries , excepts
arms
International Monetary Fund (IMF)

 The IMF’s mandate is to:

>administer loans,
>provide technical assistance to ensure that countries can
develop their trade,
>stabilize exchange rates as well as a facilitating a
multilateral payment system (system of payments across
national borders, where as currencies are convertible
and residents of a state can acquire and dispose
currency in exchange markets for current international
transactions) between member countries.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
cont’d
The IMF gives strict and sometimes crippling solutions to the developing
countries before they can “pass” the IMF test or in other words
qualify for the loans and or technical assistance.
Some of the IMF stipulations include:
 Privatization of government-owned companies

 Significant reduction in government spending which often result in a

cut in social welfare programmes
 Devaluing of the dollar for the country so that its exports can be
competitive on international markets
 Keep interest rate high to balance or stabilize the dollar- (However,
higher levels of interest rates means it’s more costly to borrow which
in turn reduce the level of investment and investment is needed for
economic growth and development).
IMF cont’d
 These strict stipulations often result in huge public sector
job cuts , high levels of inflation and the increase in cost
for basic necessities- especially food. It is important to
note that the measures suggested by the IMF do not
always result in the reduction in poverty in the
developing countries.
 The stipulations of the IMF are referred to as Structural
Adjustment Polices (SAP). Even though, developing
countries may experience initial economic hardships and
or political unrest, the long term benefit of the IMF is
suppose to stabilize the economy, lower inflation so that
private companies and investors will continue to do
business in these countries.
Structural Adjustments Policies/Poverty Reduction
Strategy regarding the IMF

 Structural adjustments refer to the ways in which developing

nations design or create programmes that will assist them in
growing their economies and eventually become “self-
sufficient” to the point where they experience development.
 Structural adjustment policies are encouraged based on the
organisations that offer them credit, for example, the IMF. In
theory, countries are then expected to grow their economies so
that they can repay their debts.
 The fact that these structural adjustment policies are tied to the
stipulations of the IMF, the repercussions is often times severe
in that, even if countries experience economic growth the
quality of life of its citizens are improved.
World Bank

Its mandate is to offer monetary assistance to countries with

the idea that it will promote or facilitate development. The
World Bank offers loans (provided by the rich developed
countries of Western Europe, North America, Japan and oil
producing countries) to the poor undeveloped countries of
Africa, Asia, the Caribbean Region and South America.
 Countries that stand to benefit from the loans of the World
Bank tend to see the manifestations of such help in the form
of infrastructural development such as the construction of
roads, health care facilities, educational facilities, rural
development and water supplies
World Bank Cont’d
 The World Bank consists of five organisations:
 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)- lends
money to government of middle-income and creditworthy low-income
countries
 The International Development Association (IDA)- provides free interest
loans and grants to governments
 The International Finance Corporation (IFC)- with a focus on the private
sector this organisation helps developing countries achieve sustainable
growth by financial investments and providing advisory services to
businesses and governments.
 The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)- created to promote
foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic
growth, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of people’s lives.
 The International Centre for settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) –
provides international facilities for arbitration of investment disputes
World Bank Cont’d
 The World Bank tries to use these organisations to
assist with helping developing countries achieve
development, by promoting them as viable markets
for the developed countries. However even though
the developing countries may experience
incremental economic growth, human and
environmental development is less visible.
Transnational Corporations/ Multinational
Corporations
 Transnational Corporations refer to corporations that
conduct business in overseas countries by investing or
opening new offices and or establishing plants to provide
goods and services. This is facilitates FOREIGN DIRECT
INVESTMENT: the physical investments and purchases made by
company in a foreign company for eg., factories, plants etc.
 One of the goals of transnational organisations is to find the
most efficient and cost-effective environment for production.
This is not always beneficial to the environment. (impact on
sustainable development)
 These companies play a major role in facilitating
globalisation through merger, investments or takeover to
gain control over competitors.
Transnational Corporations/
Multinational Corporations Cont’d
 These corporations are usually very rich and therefore
have lots of power and influence, even or governments.
A lot of these corporations are owned by powerful
countries for example France, Germany, the
Netherlands, The United States of America and Japan.
 Developing countries welcome to these transnational
corporations because they bring foreign direct
investment (FDI) which is suppose aid in proving solutions
to grow their economy, for instance lower unemployment
and increasing economic growth.
Transnational Corporations/
Multinational Corporations Cont’d
 Transnational corporations do make huge profits for their
already developed countries because they choose markets
with limited restrictions; they are given tax breaks, and tend
to be capital-intensive.
 This allows them to compete effectively on the world
market.
 The disadvantages of having transnational corporations
these developing states is that they have the right to leave
whenever they want nor do they create surplus jobs to lower
the employment rate, while some have been accused of
violating human rights or breeching specific rules, laws of
the states in which they are doing business.
Ideologies: social, gender, economic,
political
 The term ideology refers to those sets of ideas and
beliefs which are at the core of how people think or
view a phenomenon or state of affairs. Ideology
can facilitate development in that people who have
a common ideology tend to connect with each other
irrespective of their location whether it’s national,
regional or international
Ideologies: social, gender, economic,
political
 Social Ideology: This is concerned with the fact that
every single person deserves the right to be treated
equally or fairly regardless of their race, ethnicity,
creed, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, or
political persuasion.
 Countries that are not accommodating of peoples social
ideology may face international opposition or even
marginalized. They are sometimes forced into changing
the laws on their books or to be more accommodating
of people with different ideologies if they intend to
grow their economies through trade, tourism etc.
Ideologies: social, gender, economic,
political
 Gender ideology: This is concerned mostly with the
treatment and rights of women across the world. As such
feminist groups have evolved into powerful
organisations with a mandate to effect change
regarding the freedom and opportunities of women.
 These feminist organisations have set out liberate
women. The opportunities they are presented with will
allow them to sustain themselves economically and also
bring to the fore the issues they face with the hope that
some semblance of change with come.
Ideologies: social, gender, economic,
political
 Economic ideology: This is concerned with the fact
that countries should specialize in commodity or
service that can produce efficiently and effectively
and trade that commodity or service on the free
market without the interference of governments.
 Governments are then left to find ways of
effectively competing on a world market in spite of
their size, resources, capital and balance of trade
and TRN/MNC corporations as they operate in the
global market.
Ideologies: social, gender, economic,
political
 Political ideologies: This is concerned with the view that the type of
government that a country has with invariably impact the way in which it
experiences sustainable development (where countries experience economic
growth, the quality of life its citizens are improved and the environment is
not adversely impacted for generations to come). Political ideologies
include:
 Democracy

 Liberalism

 Communist

 Conservatism

 Green politics

 Theocracy

The political ideology of a country will most definitely influence it foreign policy
and determine the rate at which development occurs as a result of
globalisation.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
 Industry and commerce
The removal of tariffs in developing countries whose
aim is facilitate trade liberalization, increase
foreign investments, lower prices for consumers,
increase exports and consumers have a greater
choice of good, specialization in goods where
countries have a lower opportunity cost.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
Distributional Sector (Supermarkets, Department
Stores)
Globalisation facilitates the coming together of
national economies via trade in goods and services,
countries are now able to access a variety of goods
from all over the world. Consumers are able to visit
supermarket chains or department stores for
example, payless in Jamaica) and buy goods that
were once unavailable to them unless they went
overseas
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
 Labour
 Labour is one of the main constituents regarding the
means of productions and is critical in terms of the
contributions to development. Globalisation impacts
labour in various ways. One such way is that there
might be rising levels of unemployment as a result
layoffs or redundancies due to companies merging,
being bought out by larger corporations or having
to downsize.
 Impact and Response to
Globalisation
Technology
 Information technology afforded people the
opportunity to connect with families, friends and
business partners.
 Mobile phones, fax machines and the internet gave
people information to people about issues that impact
them directly and indirectly.

 Technology has transformed the nature of how countries

interact and do business with each other.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation

 Technology cont’d

Information technology has impacted all forms of

globalisation- with economic globalisation there is the use
of internet banking, online sales of goods and services;

cultural globalisation there is transference of cultural

practices which have generated income for a few;

political globalisation where countries become of aware

of the political thought via information technology and
act accordingly.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
 Ideology
 Globalisation has impacted ideology in such a way
that people are becoming more enlightened about
the perspectives to take on issues regarding, human
rights, the environment and gender. A country’s
perspectives on the above-mentioned issues can
often times impact their economies. It is therefore
necessary for Caribbean countries to address issues
that may cause developed countries to impose
sanctions on them.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
 Popular Movements
 Popular movements in the Caribbean have been impacted by globalisation.
The fact that globalization facilitates interconnectedness among the citizens
of countries all over the world, people who feel disenfranchised tend to
seek organisation to advocate on their behalf. These organisations seek to
address gender issues, human rights, social equity and health issues.
 Important organisations such as Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND)
empowers women to be agents of change to reduce violence and militarism,
support nuclear disarmament. Branches of the WAND such as WAND
Education Fund and Women, Peace and Security Programme focus on
educating and empowering women on issues including, the promotion and
protection of women’s right, encouraging women lawmakers on issues of
foreign policy and peace building, which became applicable and effective
in times of war especially in the Middle East.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
Popular Movements
 They also promote the role women play in preventing and
resolving violent conflict protects women and girls from
gender based violence during war crisis, and advance the
full and equal participation of women in all efforts to create
and maintain national and international peace and security.
 In addition, the Tambourine Army can be considered as an
offshoot of the LGBTQ movement that’s popular in North
America and Europe. They gained popularity for their
movements which sought to stem all violence against women
and children in a controversial campaign dubbed
“#SayTheirNames”.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
Environmental and Social Justice Non-Governmental
Organisations
 These organisations focus on the preservation of the
environment, the importance of honouring human
rights and development projects that are
humanitarian in nature. Globalisation enhances the
actions of these organisations that tend to foster
economic, human and sustainable development.
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
Organisations below are examples of actions taken to
improve the environment and people’s lives all at the same
time:
 Climate Change and Renewable Energy :

*Fight Global Warming

*The Climate reality Project
*The Vote Solar Initiative
 Sustainable Lifestyles and Businesses

*International Sustainable Solutions

*Regional Sustainability Organisations
*The National Religious Partnership for Environment
Impact and Response to
Globalisation
 Environment and Sustainable Farming:
*Clean Water Action
*Global Exchange
*Earth Watch Institute
Impact of Globalisation on the
Caribbean Societies
 Improvement in living standards
 Consumers have access to a variety of goods and services to satisfy
insatiable wants for superior products.
 The promotion of cultural imperialism which tend to contribute to cultural
erasure.
 Contributes to the rising levels of unemployment as companies fail to
compete with TNCs or MNCs.
 Contribute to growing debt as countries tend to import more than they
export resulting in a trade deficit.
 Promote growth in the tourist sector especially now with the heavy usage
of social media
 Highly skilled workers opt to migrate to developed countries with the
aims of achieving financial independence.
 Exploitation of resources in developing countries by large companies in
the developed world.