CASE STUDIES Flashcards
GLOBAL HUBS
- finance hub: London Stock Exchange
- migration hub: Heathrow
- goods hub: London Gateway, Essex
- media hub: BBC
- I-Hub: silicon roundabout
- Governance hub: UK law
Transnational corporation (TNC)
a firm operating in more than one country/many countries/spreading across borders operating internationally/working globally
Globalisation statsitics
- $26trillion in flows of goods, services, and finance in 2012
- $40billion added to global GDP each year by flows
- up to $85trillion flow of goods, services, finance by 2025, 3x value of 2012
- 500% increase in international Skype call minutes since 2008
- 90% of commercial seller on eBay export to other countries
1948, The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
- initially 23 countries agreed 45,000 tariff concessions affecting US$10bil of trade
- rose to 102 countries agreeing tariff reductions more than US$300billion
- created after WW2 to build free trade, fees on trade would not have helped grow the economy after war
1994, The World Trade Organisation (WTO)
- GATT became this, 123 countries
- major reductions in tariffs and agricultural subsidies
- full access for textiles, clothing from developing countries
- extension to property rights
- wants trade liberalisation
- Laos can trade directly with Eu not just neighbours
- USA still gives preferential treatment to their own companies, Del Monte, hard for Ecuador to export bananas to Europe
2001-now, Doha Development Round
- unsuccessful negotiations to reduce barriers to trade made by WTO
- main disagreement between developed economies (EU, US, Japan) and emerging (Brazil, India, China) is over agricultural subsidies, viewed as type of trade barrier
5 factors that have increased globalisation
- TNCs
- lower transport costs
- computer + internet technology
- international organisations
- new markets
World Bank
- lend money and give grants all around the world, poverty reduction
- impose strict conditions
- poor countries will rely on aid, don’t bother to fix economy themselves
International Monetary Fund
- channels loans from rich to poorer country, have to agree to run free market economics and allow outside investment, Sierra Leone
- gov might have to cut back on health care, education, sanitation, housing
CHINA
- 1978 open door policy
- outsourcing, cheaper labour, exploitation
- internet censorship, control globalisation, greatest firewall, most extensive in world, blocked international rivals benefiting local businesses (Tencent- Chinese company), limits access to foreign info
- trade protectionism, they are anti-immigration
- 500million internet users
- cover up controversial Chinese history
- Google kicked out
- Air quality data is fabricated, American embassy shows real data
- “block and clone”
- imprisoned journalists
- gov scared online tools will organise rebellion
- 2mil people directly or indirectly monitoring the internet for Chinese gov = jobs?
- protects home grown companies with trade barriers
FIRST NATIONS: Canada
- aboriginal people
- 634 recognised gov, represented at Assembly of First Nations
- protection of rights and culture
- schools, health boards, towns, etc
- Fracking threatens them
- students leave to attend HS, threaten cultural survival
- Beaver Dam Pond - flooded
- road under construction, will connect Poplar River to Winnipeg
DENE FIRST NATION, Sahtu Region
want economic liberalism the most
- negative impacts of petroleum development
- 200mil barrels extracted since 1920
- fish died in oil polluted lakes= their subsistence
- effects of alcohol and drugs on behaviour of youth
FORT MCKAY FIRST NATION, Alberta
balanced between environmental/social and economic liberalism
- worked with oil sands to protect land and culture
- 250,000 barrels of bitumen a day
- first nations benefit financially
HAIDA FIRST NATION
more towards environmental/social liberalism
- protested in 1985 over logging
- entire surroundings now protected
- heritage site
POPLAR RIVER FIRST NATION
want social/environmental liberalism (resourced nationalism)
- 2 million acres of lowland forest
- wanted trees + soil to be left
- established land management + conservation plan
- want to be World Heritage Site
- ban on all forms of development
GLOBAL SHIFT: Asia
economic centre of gravity shifted east
rapid urbanisation in developing countries
GOOD
- millions migrated for work, secondary sector
- less people living on $1.25 per day
- less poverty, contribute to economy, services initiated because spending money
- sectorial shift from primary to secondary
BAD
- less people in rural areas
- rapid rates of urbanisation = poverty and unemployment, poor public health care, overcrowding
- infrastructure can’t cope with inc. population
- can’t afford homes= slums or rent uncontrolled houses
- child labour, large scale
- 17 people dying annually in factories
- not being paid enough= slums + informal jobs
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
- high levels of pollution, exploitation of resources, dumping of waste
- corruption= hindrance to meeting emission targets
- emissions from transport
- dumping of waste, not well regulated
BANGLADESH, Rana Plaza
- 8 story building collapse
- 2000 people inside
- coffin of concrete and metal
- clothing factories, Primark- shocked and saddened
- workers complained about safety of building hour before they saw cracks in walls- told to go inside
- ignore safety to feed demand of westernised clothes
- 100+ died in fire
- rescue efforts continued into night, casualties increased
- worst industrial accident in Bangladesh’s history
- now have: fire doors, sprinkler systems, electrical upgrades, stronger foundations set
- factories need to be better regulated, trade unions should determine rules
- TNCs and consumers profit
PAKISTAN, Karachi
- Karachi= capital of Pakistan
- 20million people
- most populous city in Pakistan, 6th most populous city in world
- 90% of young people do not see opportunities in area
- 41% people uncertain about political future, not involved
- Karachi: industrial + financial centre
- formal economy: $133billion
- 20% of Pakistan’s GDP
- 95% of Pakistan’s foreign trade
- 90% of multinational corporations headquarters in Karachi
- city’s murder rate decreased by 75% from 2013-2015, kidnappings decreased by 90%
- infrastructure can’t withstand rapid population increase
- no cohesive transportation, 1,000 new cars added daily to city’s congested streets
- not enough schools, hospitals, stress, QoL worsens
- agricultural sector 20% to GDP, employs 42%
- assume life in city is better
- migrants= no qualifications
- KATCHI ABADIS/Orangi (slums), “slips” for refugees, allowed them to settle in any vacant land, 50% of city’s residents live here, extremism begins here
- ASWJ- extremist group, solves issues gov doesn’t: free education but with Islamic basis
- police checkpoints, effective due to decrease in murder/crime
- police= not well resourced
- informal sector, employs 70% of city’s workers
- Pakistan Rangers
RUSSIAN OLIGARCHS
- Accession 8 (2004), expansion of the EU, extended rights to live and work in other EU member states: Eastern and Central European
- jobs, unemployment rate in UK 5%
- earn 4-5x pay as you would in Poland
- 10,000 migrants went to Slough, pressure on health, education, housing
- schools= EALs needed
- need 10 new schools in Slough
- 5 tier visa system, target is 100,000 per year
BENEFITS FOR SOURCE - remittances invested in local services
- less unemployment as people have moved
- wages rise = fewer workers available
- new job opportunities for women
- services less overcrowded
LOSS FOR SOURCE - loss of skilled workers
- loss of tax revenue
- loss of population to sustain services
- loss of culture
- families divided
- young migrants leaving, high dependency ratio
OLIGARCHS: business owners who acquired commodity
LONDONGRAD: wealthy parts of London where Russian business owners bought property for kids
- benefit from UK institutions, loans by Russian businesses over £250bil, banks charge 3%
- Russian investments in London= £27bn, but only accounts for 0.5% of total international assets
- Mafia
- increased local taxing to help fund for services
- decreases hate crime
WHAT ATTRACTS PEOPLE TO LONDON?
- stock exchanges and HQs and TNCs- attracts stockbrokers
- migrant enclaves
- wide range of employment opportunities
- many languages spoken
- universities and high quality education
- NHS, benefits, education
