Power, Places and Networks
Globalization indices showing how countries participate in global interactions
Globalisation is not new but the current form of globalisation is more global, more
integrated and has developed at a much faster rate than in the past
Three main forms of globalisation:
o Economic: largely caused by the growth of transnational corporations (TNCs)
o Social: the impact of western culture, art, media, sport and leisure pursuits on the
world
o Political: the growth of western democracies and their influence on poor countries,
and the decline of centralised economies
The KOF Index of Globalisation
Most globalised countries are Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many European
countries.
Least globalised countries include many in sub-Saharan Africa, especially around the
horn of Africa, countries in conflict such as Afghanistan, and some low-income countries
including Nepal and Myanmar.
The KOF Index covers the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation:
o The economic dimension - long-distance flows of goods, capital and services, as well
as information and perceptions that accompany market exchange (36% of the
index)
o The social dimension - the spread of ideas, information, images and people (38% of
the index)
o The political dimension - the diffusion of government policies (26% of the index)
The KOF Index calculates an overall index of globalisation and sub-indices referring to
actual economic flows, economic restrictions, data on information flows, data on
personal contact, and the data on cultural proximity.
In 2016 the Netherlands was identified as the most globalised country in the world,
followed by Ireland, Belgium and Austria.
Showed that advances were generally slowing down despite large increases in Eastern
Europe and Asia-Pacific
The world's major economies (USA, China, Japan, Russia and Germany) tend to be more
inward-looking and less globalised.
Measures of economic globalisation:
o Covers actual economic flows and restrictions to trade and capital
o Since the financial crisis of 2008, economic globalisation has made little progress.
Measures of social globalisation:
o Classifies social globalisation in three categories:
o Personal contacts
Includes international telecom traffic (outgoing traffic in minutes per
subscriber) and the degree of tourism (incoming and outgoing) a country's
population is exposed to.
Government and workers' transfers (such as remittances and foreign direct
investment (FDI)) received and paid (as a percentage of GDP) measure
whether and to what extent countries interact
o Information flows:
Includes number of internet users, cable television subscribers, and radios
(all per 1000 people) and international newspapers traded (as a percentage
of GDP)
