Globalisation EQ1

Question 1

BRICS group

Answer 1

The four large, fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and – most recently – South Africa.

Question 2

Economies of scale

Answer 2

Where companies expand production to increase efficiency and reduce unit production costs

Question 3

Emerging economies

Answer 3

Countries that have begun to experience high rates of economic growth, usually due to rapid factory expansion and industrialisation

Question 4

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

Answer 4

A financial injection made by a TNC into a nation’s economy, either to build new facilities (factories of shops) or to acquire, or merge with, an existing firm already based there.

Question 5

Global production network (GPN)

Answer 5

A chain of connected suppliers of parts and materials that contribute to the manufacturing or assembly of the consumer goods

Question 6

Glocalisation

Answer 6

Changing the design of products to meet local tastes or laws

Question 7

Glocalisation

Answer 7

Changing the design of products to meet local tastes or laws

Question 8

Gross domestic product

Answer 8

A measure of the financial value of goods and services produced within a territory (including foreign firms located there)

Question 9

Horizontal integration

Answer 9

Where a company expands at one level in the production process

Question 10

Interdependency

Answer 10

When two places become over-reliant on financial and/or political connections with one another

Question 11

Intermodal containers

Answer 11

Large-capacity storage units which can be transported long distances using multiple types of transport without the freight being taken out of the container

Question 12

Intermodal containers

Answer 12

Large-capacity storage units which can be transported long distances using multiple types of transport without the freight being taken out of the container

Question 13

International Monetary Fund

Answer 13

An organisation whose primary role is to maintain international financial stability, by stabilising currencies and granting loans to countries that cannot pay their debts.

Question 14

Just in time

Answer 14

Where the time gap between production and delivery to the customer is sharply reduced, cutting warehousing and storage costs

Question 15

Knowledge economy

Answer 15

Where GDP is earned more through expertise and creativity in services such as finance, media, law, technology and management, than from the manufacture of goods - the quaternary employment sector

Question 16

Least developed countries (LDCs)

Answer 16

The world’s very poorest low-income nations, whose populations have little experience of globalisation. A number of these can be described as ‘failed states’ eg Somalia

Question 17

OECD

Answer 17

A global ‘think tank’ of 34 of the worlds’ wealthiest nations that promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Question 18

OECD

Answer 18

A global ‘think tank’ of 34 of the worlds’ wealthiest nations that promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Question 19

OPEC

Answer 19

An Intergovernmental Organisation (IGO) that co-ordinates policies and prices related to oil production with its 12 members.

Question 20

0ffshoring

Answer 20

TNCs move parts of their own production process (factories or offices) to other countries to reduce labour or other costs

Question 21

Outsourcing

Answer 21

TNCs contract another company to produce the goods and services they need rather than do it themselves. This can then result in the growth of complex supply chains

Question 22

Remittances

Answer 22

Money that migrants send home to their families via formal or informal channels

Question 23

Shrinking world

Answer 23

Thanks to technology, distant places start to feel closer and take less time to reach

Question 24

Sovereign wealth fund

Answer 24

Government-owned investment funds and banks typically associated with China and countries that have large revenues from oil, such as Qatar and Norway.

Question 25

Spatial division of labour

Answer 25

The common practice among TNCs of moving low-skilled work abroad (or ‘offshore’) to places where labour costs are low. Important skilled management jobs are retained at the TNC’s headquarters in its country of origin.

Question 26

Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

Answer 26

An industrial area, often near a coastline, where favourable conditions are created to attract foreign TNCs. These conditions include low tax rates and exemptions from tariffs and export duties.

Question 27

Subsidies

Answer 27

Grants given by governments to increase the profitability of key industries e.g. farming.

Question 28

Tariffs

Answer 28

The taxes that are paid when importing or exporting goods and services between countries.

Question 29

Technological leap-frogging

Answer 29

The adoption of a new technology by a developing economy without it having to use a more basic technology first

Question 30

Time-space compression

Answer 30

The perceptual change of time, distance and potential barriers to the migration of people, goods, money and information through heightened connectivity

Question 31

Trade blocs

Answer 31

Voluntary international organisations that exist for trading purposes, bringing greater economic strength and security to the nations that join.

Question 32

Trade liberalisation

Answer 32

Removing barriers (such as subsidies and tariffs/duties) so that Free Trade can occur.

Question 33

Transnational corporations

Answer 33

Businesses whose operations are spread across the world, operating in many nations as both makers and sellers of goods and services

Question 34

Trickle-down

Answer 34

The positive impacts on peripheral regions (and poorer people) caused by the creation of wealth in core regions (and among richer people).

Question 35

Vertical integration

Answer 35

Where a company controls and owns every stage of production from exploration to sales

Question 36

World Bank

Answer 36

An organisation that aims to tackle extreme poverty by providing low-interest loans for development in countries that agree to certain conditions concerning repayment and economic growth.

Question 37

World Trade Organisation

Answer 37

An organisation which believes in trade liberalisation, seeking to encourage all trade between countries free of tariffs, quotas or restrictions on trade.