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Issue Description
Thanks to increasing foreign travel and the growth of the internet, the world today seems like a much smaller place. However, the ‘global village’ is not without disadvantages. Some say increased trade has allowed large corporations to take advantage of workers in developing countries, over 1 billion of whom still work for less than $1 a day. Others believe, however, that free trade is economically necessary. This title looks at the debate surrounding the rise of globalisation.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
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Key Facts
- Global income is
more than $40.2 trillion a year, but 19 per cent (1.21 billion) of the
world’s population earn less than $1 a day. (page 2)
- The
digital and information revolution has changed the way the world
learns, communicates, does business and treats illnesses. In 2004,
there were 545 people per 1000 using the internet in high income
countries, while there were only 24 per 1000 in low income countries.
(page 2)
- 15%
of British people surveyed by the Financial Times felt that
globalisation was having a positive effect in Great Britain. 53% felt
it was having a negative effect, and 32% were not sure. (page 4)
- If
everyone on earth consumed as much as the average person in the UK,
we’d need three planets to support us – and if we consumed as much as
the average American, we’d need six planets. (page 13)
- The
goods we buy in the shops and the materials used to make them come from
all over the world and have often been traded many times before we buy
them. World trade is currently worth US$7 trillion every year. (page 16)
- Globalisation has been an important factor in the falling price of manufactured goods. (page 24)
- Fairtrade
Labelling Organisations International (FLO) has announced that
consumers worldwide spent £1.1bn on Fairtrade Certified Products in
2006. This is a 42% increase on the previous year directly benefiting
over 7 million people – farmers, workers and their families in
developing countries. (page 30)
- A
report from the Adam Smith Institute has claimed that fair trade is
unfair. It offers only a very small number of farmers a higher, fixed
price for their goods. These higher prices come at the expense of the
great majority of farmers, who – unable to qualify for Fairtrade
certification – are left even worse off. (page 33)
- 50% of respondents believe that the UK status as a global power is declining while 5% think it is increasing. (page 35)
- The
UK public perceive offshoring to be an increasing threat with 82%
believing enough jobs have moved offshore already, according to a
Deloitte/YouGov survey of attitudes to global economic competition.
Just 4% of respondents support the continuation of offshoring. (page 35)
- The world’s most engaged citizens say that while they personally embrace global trade and corporate investment in their homeland, they want their governments to more aggressively crack down on the activities and influence of national and multinational corporations, a new survey reports. (page 39)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Overview
What is globalisation?, Globalisation explained, Globalisation defined, A globalisation glossary, Concerns about globalisation, The Bretton Woods Institutions, Globalisation – problems and solutions, Making the global village a reality, English will fragment into ‘global dialects’.
Chapter Two: Globalisation and Trade
World trade, Trade – did you know?, Trade and the WTO, The WTO – 10 common misunderstandings, Globalisation and the poor, Examples of unfair trade rules, Fighting poverty through trade, ‘Sweatshops shame’ fashion alert, Sweat, fire and ethics, Globalisation and multinationals, The fairtrade boom, ‘Teach us how to fish – do not just give us the fish’, Unfair trade?, Globalisation will not threaten skilled UK workers, Offshoring and UK workers, Britain and globalisation: a good marriage, Making globalisation work, Attitudes to global trade.
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The Study Guide for: The Problem of Globalisation - Volume 157
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: 978 1 86168 462 2