Does greater globalisation reduce poverty and inequality? Discuss this with reference to country examples.
Globalisation is a concept that has been widely used since the 1990s; it is a web of complex processes with contradictory impacts on developing countries (Kolodko, 2003). It is described as the “process through which goods and services, capital, people information and ideas flow through borders and lead to greater integration of economies and societies” (International Monetary Fund, IMF, 2002, p.1). Although the process of globalisation may have started as early as the colonial period, the discourse of globalisation and development is a recent phenomenon. Several political, economic and social factors have occurred since the 1980s that have shaped the current form of globalisation and it is viewed as an inescapable feature of the world today (Agenor, 2004). The main agents of globalisation are transnational corporations whose search for profit pushes them to bring down trade barriers, offshore manufacturing processes and reduce regulations (Agenor). The response to globalisation varies depending on different people’s interests
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China can be considered the “engine of Asian driven globalisation today” (Sally, 2007). Sally states that this shift in status for China would not have been possible if it had not been for the open-door reforms set by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. China made great strides towards global market integration and is now one of the world’s largest economies mostly due to the fact that trade liberalisation and foreign direct investment were at the heart of market reforms (Sally). The effects of globalisation in China are evident in the improved quality of life for its citizens as absolute poverty has declined from over 50 per cent of the population to just above 10 per cent, which is equivalent to lifting 400 million people out of poverty (Sally,