The overselling of globalization

Globalization was oversold. Politicians and some economists wrongly argued for trade agreements on the basis of job creation. The gains to GDP or growth were overestimated, and the costs, including adverse distributional effects, were underestimated. There have been important political consequences of this overselling, including the undermining of confidence in the elites that advocated globalization. The failures of globalization and the misguided backlash against it contain many lessons: about the importance of science and learning in society, the importance of the shared acceptance of facts, the dangerous consequences of deliberately misinforming the public, and the folly of ignoring the distributional consequences of economic forces just because they may lead to growth. The new protectionism advocated by the administration of Donald Trump will only worsen the plight of those already hurt by globalization. What is needed is a comprehensive system of social protection. After cataloguing the failures of globalization and explaining how they led to our current political mire, this paper outlines a set of policies that could put the economy and our politics back on a better path.     

Deregulation and globalization of airlines

Although the airline industry has contributed to the globalization of the world economy, it is itself one of the least globalized sectors. This article identifies the governmental policies that have contributed to that outcome, and the economic and political forces that have gradually eroded regulatory barriers to competition and globalization in the last ten to fifteen years. Based on their airline industry policies in the mid-1990s, countries are classified as efficiency seekers (e.g., the United States), late reformers (e.g., Germany), and shelter providers (e.g., France), with the first embracing deregulation and globalization, the second adopting those policies somewhat slowly and reluctantly, and the third continuing to resist them in every possible way. Using Porter's “diamond” of international competitiveness, the article then explores the interaction of country characteristics and government policies to shape the competitiveness of U.S. and European airlines. The article concludes that, as a group, U.S. airlines are quite competitive, whereas in Europe the situation varies greatly between efficiency-seeking countries, such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, whose airlines have become very competitive, and shelter-providing countries, such as France, Italy, and Spain, whose airlines continue to be plagued by high costs and poor service. Because first-mover advantages can be significant as the airline industry globalizes, countries that postpone reforms are likely to find that the passage of time makes it harder to make their airlines internationally competitive, not merely in terms of cost but also in terms of nonprice dimensions, such as quality, service, and reliability.     

经济全球化与产业演进

本文从经济全球化的角度，阐明了产业演进和经济全球化的关系以及新的经济全球化给产业演进带来的机遇。运用实证经济学，分析了政府在产业演进中的作用；借鉴西方经济学研究成果，从几个方面论述了如何促进产业升级，提高竞争力，以期为我国的产业演进，迎接经济全球化的挑战，提供有益的思考。     

The globalization of Chinese enterprises

The question of how and why Chinese firms globalize is one of the most pressing issues for businesses today. China's globalization process is nothing less than remarkable. The twenty‐first century will feature a developing country as the leader of the global economy by 2020, when, by most estimates, China's purchasing power parity (PPP) gross domestic product (GDP) surpasses America's. With China's new role on the world's stage, global economic and political institutions are likely to change. China's foray into Latin America, for example, has changed the traditional role that America has played in its “backyard.” While the Chinese government was given much credit for China's globalization, Chinese private‐ and family‐owned businesses have also propelled China outward. Our research stream and annual China Goes Global conference at Harvard has attempted to frame the questions associated with China's globalization. This special issue is another important step in this direction. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

ASEAN between globalization and regionalization

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to test the hypothesis that the ‘ASEAN way’ is different from other regional integration schemes, as measured by the relative importance of its de facto regionalization patterns, the importance of its ASEAN+ frameworks, and its globalization-regionalization nexus. A set of indicators using intra- and extra-regional flow data of various sorts are explored and used to compare the ASEAN integration experience with some benchmark cases worldwide. Four aspects are thereby considered: (1) globalization and economic openness, (2) trade liberalization, (3) regional production sharing, and (4) foreign investment promotion.     

Does globalization restrict budgetary autonomy?

Does globalization restrict the leeway for national budgetary policy? With the help of cluster and discriminant analysis this study provides evidence on the basis of the experience of OECD countries since the 1970s. The results suggest that while globalization does indeed matter for government budgets, substantial room is left for individual national policies particularly with regard to public expenditure structure and public debt.     

Differentiation,labor market and globalization

We consider two countries with initially one firm in each country and the possibility for each firm to invest in the other country or commercialize its products, and for workers to immigrate (Common Labor Market; CLM). Interestingly, when firms compete on the product market with no competition on the labor market (Goods’ Mobility; GM), they do not differentiate their qualities. However, when competition is introduced in both markets (Foreign Investment; FI) firms differentiate their products. We compare the globalization scenarii and prove that they improve the global social welfare relative to autarky and that a cooperative choice by countries of a globalization scenario would lead to GM.     

Corporate governance,globalization and firm productivity

We examine the relationship between globalization, corporate governance and firm productivity. The results, using longitudinal data from Korea, indicate that the positive effect of liberalising equity ownership on firms’ total factor productivity (TFP) was reinforced by indirect managerial effects when a firm improved its corporate governance. Our findings also confirm that the interaction of the managerial effect with increased foreign equity ownership is more significant than interaction with exports, suggesting that liberalising foreign investment in the host market is more effective in capitalising on the potential benefits of corporate governance reform than increasing exports to overseas markets, reflected in learning by exporting.     

Linking globalization of entrepreneurship in small organizations

The field of entrepreneurship spans a wide variety of topic areas, and among the most important is that of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). The aim of this paper is to link entrepreneurship and SMEs. Attempting to generalize the outcomes of entrepreneurship in small organizations from different sectors, countries or industries should be activities that are part of daily life on an international scale. In extracting and transferring the outcomes of this research into entrepreneurship and SMEs, policy makers should see an aspect that must be consolidated within the environment of international globalization that surrounds us. It should not be forgotten that what starts out as small (i.e. an SME) can become large over time and this entrepreneurship can form a part of a new organizational structure. A brief overview of the contents of each of the articles included in this special issue on the globalization of entrepreneurship in small organizations is also presented herein.      

At Aldus,globalization wasn't an afterthought

At Aldus, entering foreign markets was not a strategy pursued after its products had been successfully marketed in the U.S. Aldus President Paul Brainerd set out from the beginning to build products that could be quickly adapted to local markets. With a strong competitive position in the European Community, the Seattle-based computer software producer now looks to the Pacific Rim.     

The globalization of markets and regional integration

The 1980s have witnessed the globalization of markets and an intensified international competition. The rise of the newly industrializing countries and the growth of multinational enterprises—developing parallely to foreign direct investments—have contributed considerably to this trend. However, there are factors suggesting that the intensification of market competition might be only a transitory phenomenon.     

The globalization of business in Latin America

New trade and exchange strategies, economic integration, political reforms, and privatization are driving Latin American firms to expand operations both within and outside the area. Additionally, multinational firms have stepped up operations, entered sectors previously dominated by state-owned enterprises, and restructured their management. Vast projects are upgrading transport, seaports, and airports. Communications and emerging patterns in consumer life styles are redefining markets. Sweeping change, plus the challenge of becoming internationally competitive, has burgeoned management training needs for both the business and public sectors. Yet in some countries the prospects for continued reform could be reversed by hardening social tensions and voter skepticism that free market policies will effectively reduce poverty and persistent unemployment.     

Multiproduct firms and scope adjustment in globalization

A model of heterogeneous firms with variety-specific fixed costs is developed and analyzed to study how multiproduct firms respond to globalization. In contrast with most existing models, the analysis demonstrates that more-productive firms may expand their product scope, which in turn may push up their average costs. A necessary and sufficient condition for scope expansion is that the fixed cost of introducing more varieties increases rapidly with the product scope. With increasing globalization, the percentage of scope-expanding firms diminishes and eventually becomes zero.     

加强全球化进程中社会管理的若干问题分析

我国在全球化进程中,新萌生的一些影响社会稳定的因素增多,改革发展更多地触及深层次的体制性问题,社会关系更加复杂化,不可避免地引发更多的问题和矛盾.我国的社会稳定正面临着新的考验.这必将对我国的社会管理提出新的要求.     

Labour unions,globalization and deregulation in Thailand

This contribution traces the evolution of work systems and labour-management relationships in Thailand, with emphasis on the nature and role of unions in the Thai economy. We focus on issues that have emerged as a consequence of globalization and privatization (currently the most significant form of deregulation in Thailand). Labour unions are quite weak in Thailand, even in comparison to other rapidly developing countries in the region. Furthermore, unions have been weakened further in recent years as the consequence of government action, prompted both by globalization pressures and extensive privatization of state enterprises. The emergence of a democratic political system in Thailand has not served to reverse this trend. Indeed, a reversal of this trend does not seem likely in the foreseeable future.