Globalisation, history and development: a tale of two centuries

This paper situates globalisation in historical perspectiveto analyse its implications for development. It sketches a pictureof globalisation during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.A comparison of these two epochs reveals striking parallels,unexpected similarities and important differences. It showsthat globalisation did not lead to rapid growth and economicconvergence in the world, either then or now. Indeed, growthslowed down, and income levels diverged, while the gap betweenthe industrialised and developing countries widened, in bothepochs. The story of globalisation, it turns out, does not conformto the fairy tale about convergence and development.     

What is the globalisation of inflation?

This paper studies the globalisation of CPI inflation by analysing core, energy and food components, testing for structural breaks in the relationships between domestic inflation and a corresponding country-specific foreign inflation series at the monthly frequency for OECD countries. The iterative methodology employed separates coefficient and variance breaks, while also taking account of outliers. We find that the overall pattern of globalisation in aggregate inflation is largely driven by convergence of the mean levels of the core component from the early 1990s, compatible with the introduction of inflation targeting in many countries of our sample. There is less evidence of increased synchronisation of shortrun movements in core than aggregate inflation, but an increased role for shortrun foreign energy inflation often contributes to the globalisation effect.     

Does Europe need neoliberal reforms?

This paper examines the neoliberal claim that the only way toachieve sustainable growth and full employment is to abandonKeynesian macroeconomic management and the welfare state andbring back ‘flexible labour market policies’. Itsummarises the conditions required for neoliberal policies toproduce such an outcome and their relevance to contemporaryeconomic, social and political realities. This is followed byan empirical comparison of the economic performance and socialwell-being of seven advanced economies, widely regarded as leadingproponents of the three models of capitalism: liberal, corporatistand social democratic. Contrary to the claim, the model thatperforms best is the one that has least in common with the neoliberaleconomic orthodoxy – a conclusion that is likely to beof particular relevance in the present century.     

A spectre is haunting the world – the spectre of global capitalism

Individual property rights are fruitful for economic development because they civilise self-interest by forcing it to serve the common good. The history of previous property rights “cycles,” however, shows that their ability to do this deterioriates over time because the laws of property fall under the control of those whom property is meant to discipline. Irresponsible ownership then intensifies inequality until a breaking point is reached. The present cycle is no exception, but its breaking point has been postponed by the growth of the democratically-inspired welfare state. Globalisation is now eroding the financial basis of this, because mobile capital can escape taxation, leaving labour to carry the burden. The main thrust of this movement is now found in the World Trade Organisation, whose control of intellectual property and commitment to free trade in money as well as goods, can only increase inequality between countries as well as within them. It represents individual property rights which are out of any form of social control, since there is no global mechanism for civilising self-interest. Schumpeter's sense of the impending demise of capitalism, if not of its replacement by socialism, may yet be vindicated.     

The Scandinavian model—prospects and challenges

Scandinavian countries are often portrayed in policy debates as model examples having shown how to square concerns for efficiency and equity. The core principle of the Scandinavian welfare model is an individual entitlement to public sector provisions combined with collective financing via taxes. However, a high employment rate is needed to ensure financial viability of this model. The Scandinavian model faces several challenges which affect the possibilities of maintaining a high employment ratio, namely, demographic changes, a growth dilemma and globalisation. This paper discusses how these challenges affect the need and scope for reforms of the Scandinavian welfare model.      

Global change, local pain: intermodal seaport terminals and their service areas

The creation of global shipping alliances and the trend to post-Panamax container ships have put pressure on seaports to respond in such a way as to guarantee the continued success of intermodal terminals. This paper points out the globalisation that is taking place in container shipping and how ports are responding. Emphasis is put on terminal improvements in the form of post-Panamax cranes and on the nature of competition in the service areas of ports. Halifax and Vancouver are used as examples of ports trying to adapt in the new age of containerisation.     

GLOBALISATION AND AN EMERGING GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS

Globalisation has expanded the size of the global middle class. This expansion will change consumption patterns and shift the balance of spending power to middle-income economies. Rapid growth rates of the middle class in China and India have played a decisive role in creating the middle-income bulge. By 2030 the global middle class has been projected to grow to two billion. It is of note that a large middle class was also created during the first era of globalisation.     

A FEW CRITICAL REMARKS ON GLOBALISATION, DEMOCRACY AND SPATIALITY

Globalisation has come in for a lot of criticism. With its emphasis on the unimpeded circulation of capital, it is increasingly regarded as a negative phenomenon that prompts 'creative destruction' of politico-economic spaces at various geographical scales. Globalisation is also thought to cause wage stagnation, widening inequalities, higher unemployment and greater insecurity as well as to undermine local democracy and environmental sustainability. This paper argues that those criticisms should not be unproblematically accepted and makes a case for a less biased and more nuanced interpretation.     

Whose Job Goes Abroad? International Outsourcing and Individual Job Separations

This paper focuses on the adjustment costs of globalisation by studying the effects of international outsourcing on individual transitions out of jobs in the Danish manufacturing sector for the period 1990–2003. A competing risks duration model that distinguishes between job‐to‐job and job‐to‐unemployment transitions is estimated. Outsourcing is found to increase the unemployment risk of low‐skilled workers, but the quantitative impact is modest. Outsourcing is also found to reduce the job change hazard rate for all education groups. Thus, the paper provides evidence for small adjustment costs of globalisation.     

The transnational company after globalisation

International capital market integration has facilitated the rise of a new kind of ‘financially enhanced’ transnational. The mode of operation of the financially enhanced transnational corporation is compared with that of the more traditional production-orientated multinational company. The paper discusses the breakdown of globalisation into a new regionalisation in the international financial system, and the spreading macroeconomic crisis in the major industrialised economies. It argues that new financing constraints will freeze the current structure of international business. The crisis reveals finance as the key enabler and feature of international business.