GLOBALISATION
Enquiry question 1: What are the causes of globalisation and why has it accelerated
in recent decades?
3.1 Globalisation is a long-standing process which has accelerated because of rapid
developments in transport, communications and businesses
a. Globalisation involves widening and deepening global connections,
interdependence and flows.
Globalisation ⇒ Process where the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a
result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange
This process involves connections, interdependence and flow between different locations
Types of Globalisation:
● Economic → increase of TNCs and global economic institutions e.g. IMF
● Social → international migration, improvements in global, edu, and health care
● Cultural → initially Westernisation, now a multidirectional process e.g. Bollywood >
Hollywood
● Political → institutions like UN, IMF and World Bank , trading blocs (NAFTA, EU) -
promoting free trade and works internationally helping market grow
Types of Flows:
● Commodities → goods and services (valuable raw materials, manufactured goods)
● Capital → through world stock markets
● Information → Internet (Facebook - 1.5mn users)
● People → migrants (faces greatest number of obstacles, gov has a pick and mix
attitude) and tourists (China - biggest spender of international travel)
As the world becomes more globalised, the connections between places become longer
(links between places), deeper (lifestyles connecting more deeply with far places), and faster
(travel, communication) in most areas.
● HICs - far and deep global connection
● Lics - near and shallow global connections
b. Developments in transport and trade in the 19th century accelerated in the 20th
century , contributing to a ‘shrinking world’
Globalisation during the 19th century:
● World trade grew more rapidly towards the end of 1800s
● Growth of railways, telegraphs and steamships accelerated rate of globalisation
● Emergence of TNCs → technological advances allowed goods produced in one
country to be transported to another country
, Globalisation in the 20th century:
Factors speeding up globalisation during the 20th century:
● Aeroplanes:
- Advancement in transport technology
- Jet aircraft was developed, replacing aircraft propellers - during ww2
- Jet aircraft used for military purposes and then passengers → started
commercial airlines
● Containerisation:
- Containerisation ⇒ protocol of uniform container size that can be placed on all
ships and transported all over the world
- Key idea: one size container
- Ships and ports globally can be fitted to deal with all types of goods in the
container
- Global shipping became far quicker and cheaper - more loads per hour (1965 -
1970, 1.7tn/hr to 30tn/hr), use of machinery cheaper than people, less left,
lower insurance cost
● ‘Shrinking world’ effect:
- ‘Shrinking world’ effect ⇒ despite the physical distance between places
remains the same, places feel much closer together
- Factors: containerisation, jet aircraft
c. The 21st century has been dominated by rapid development in ICT and global
communication, lowering communication costs and contributing to time-space
compression.
Third Industrial Revolution ⇒ the digitisation of manufacturing.
21st century developments in ICT and mobile communications, led to profound changes in
all aspects of society and the economy.
Factors contributing to time-space compression:
● ICT and mobile advances:
- Rapid development of Information Communication Technology and mobile
communication (e.g. mobile phones, the internet, social networking, electronic
banking and fibre optics) accelerated globalisation
- Technological developments were particularly important in developing countries
where a lack of infrastructure has been a major factor in the lack of economic
growth
- Lowered the costs of global communications
- Internet → huge facilitator of globalisation, allows increased tourism and so
increases international capital flows
- Electronic banking
● Time-space compression:
- Caused by ICT and mobile communication advances
- Allows relative distances between places to feel much slower
, - Fibre optics → lowered communication coasts and facilitated other global flows
e.g. goods, services and capital
3.2 Political and economic decision making are important factors in the acceleration
of globalisation.
a. International political and economic organisations have contributed to globalisation
through the promotion of free trade policies and foreign direct investment.
Bretton Woods Institutions:
● NGOs: WTO, IMF and WB promotes free trade policies to encourage FDI and
accelerating globalisation
● More developing and emerging countries join the organisation, their actions
encouraging free trade arguably continue to accelerate
Role in Player Info Critics
Globalisation
Free Trade World Trade ● Organisation that have ● Heavily Influenced by the
Organisation draw up rules for interest of the US and EU
international trade ● Doesn’t pay enough
● Asks countries to remove attention to poor countries
tariffs and taxes on foreign ● Not making it easier for
imports and subsidies to them to become more
domestic products so involved and gain benefits
trade is free from the global economic
system
Free Trade International Monetary ● Aims to maintain a stable ● Need to pay back loans
Fund financial system ○ May need to cut back
● Channels loan from rich on edu, healthcare
people, who apply to help ● Voting rights equivalent to
● In return, recipients agree amount of money
to have a free market invested into the fund US
economy to make it easier → 17%, Africa → less
for TNCs to enter than 1%
Free Trade World Bank ● Lends money to ● Some countries become
developing countries poorer → to repay debts,
funding economic take another loan to
development, reducing repay this loan (debt
poverty cycle)
● Requires recipients to
adopt trade liberalisation
policies, to open up to FDI
by removing legal
restrictions + capital
controls
