Globalisation (EQ1, EQ2 and EQ3)

Question 1

Define globalisation.

Answer 1

Globalisation is the process by which countries are becoming increasingly interconnected socially, culturally, politically, economically, as well as environmentally as new environmental issues require global solutions.

Question 2

What are the main flows of globalisation which interconnect countries.

Answer 2

1) People

Migrants and tourists from one part of the world or country to another.

2) Information

Information is constantly being transferred between countries through businesses and people.

3) Capital

Money is transferred through countries through people (remittances), businesses (FDI) and governments (aid).

4) Commodities

Many manufactured goods and products are manufactured or constructed elsewhere within the world and sold to distant markets.

Question 3

Explain the relationship between globalisation, advancements in transport technology, as well as in trade.

Answer 3

Developments in trade and transport technology go hand in hand for each other, as better methods of transports mean that more goods or commodities can be transported between places at a faster rate, thereby increasing trade, yet capitalist economies are always seeking to tap into new and distant markets, and therefore encouraging research in trade technology enables this, and also drives advancements in transport. As trade is increased by advancements in transport technology so is globalisation, and the idea of a shrinking world becomes less alien and more familiar.

Question 4

What advancements in transport technology have occurred throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Answer 4

1830s :

Railways and steam powered trains were significant advancement in transport technology, providing a more faster method of transport within and between countries, replacing old fashioned horse drawn and canal transport. Carriages containing goods could also be attached to these trains, and therefore be transported quickly over large distances.

1840s

Steam ships replaced sailing ships, and were significantly faster and larger meaning that more people and commodities could be transported between countries at a faster rate.

1900s - 1950s

Jet passenger aircrafts quickly replaced steam ships as the predominant method of travel between countries as it shortened travel times significantly and meant that distant countries could be reached in a matter of hours
rather than days.

Containerisation meant that commodities and other goods could be transported in large steel boxes which were inter-modal, meaning that they can be transported by ship, lorry or train. The high efficiency of container ships and their transport speed has also lowered the cost of transport which has encouraged for more trade between countries.

Question 5

What is the theory of a “shrinking world”.

Answer 5

The concept that advancements in transport and communication technology have made more distant places feel more closer as they can be accessed in a matter of hours.

Question 6

What advancements in ICT have occurred within the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and how have these contribute to globalisation.

Answer 6

Mobile phones replaced telegraphy communication and allowed for instant communication anywhere in the world. Mobile phone usage has become extremely common, and so has led to further advancements in mobile technology in the form of smart phones, ipads and smart watches. These devices allow for the easy access of various apps such as youtube where the music and videos of different cultures can be heard and listened to and even adopted, contributing to cultural globalisation. Mobile phones also enable businesses to communicate with their production plants abroad, further encouraging FDI, and therefore economic globalisation.

The development of the internet has led to further developments of social networking apps such as skype, whatsapp and snapchat. These social networking apps enable for the instant communication between places. this has contributed to social globalisation as migrants now have an easy method of communicating with their families back at home, thereby encouraging migration into different areas of the world. Similar to mobile phones, social networking apps like skype enable businesses to keep in touch with their operations abroad through conference calls for example, thus further contributing to economic globalisation. More advances in fibre optic cables which can be laid beneath oceans have increased the accessibility of the internet world wide.

Question 7

What are the 4 main political and economic intergovernmental organisations, and how do they contribute to globalisation.

Answer 7

1) WTO (Political & Economic)

The World Trade Organisation promotes free trade between countries, and thus contributes or accelerates economic globalisation through encouraging the removal of trade tariffs and barriers, as well as the abandoning of some countries protectionist attitudes.

For example, China was persuaded to lift export restrictions of rare earth elements in 2014).

2) IMF (Economic)

The International Monetary Fund directs or channels loans from wealthy and developed countries such as the USA towards those developing countries which apply for help. However, the recipients of these loans must agree to run free market economies which are open to outside investment, thereby promoting the foreign direct investment of TNCs from these wealthy countries into developing countries, contributing or accelerating economic globalisation.

3) World bank (Economic)

The World Bank directly lends loans to developing countries with the aim of helping them tackle poverty. It also provides technical support to these countries, which aids them in transitioning into free-market and capitalist economies, further reducing their poverty, yet also simultaneously enabling for FDI into these countries, thereby contributing to economic globalisation.

For example, a $470 million loan was granted by the World Bank to the Philippines for a poverty-reduction programme.

4) Trade Blocs (e.g. The EU) (Political & Economic)

Trade blocs such as the EU are voluntary international organisations which promote economic prosperity and free trade between their member states through encouraging the removal of tariffs, trade barriers and the abandonment of protectionist attitudes. Consequently, this contributes to economic globalisation. The EU also introduced a single market, whereby labour and capital can also flow freely between the borders of member states.

Question 8

What is protectionism.

Answer 8

Protectionism is the economic policy of restricting imports from specific countries through the adoption of import tariffs and import quotas in a bid to protect businesses from foreign competition.

Question 9

Name two trade blocs, and explain each.

Answer 9

The European Union

This is a trade block which consists of 27 member states each of which are from Europe. Members include Germany, France and Spain for example. The UK was also apart of the EU, until it voted to leave in 2016.

The EU promotes the free trade between member states through encouraging the removal of trade barriers such as tariffs and the abandonment of protectionist attitudes, thereby boosting economic growth. The EU also allows the free movement of people within member states as apart of its Schengen Agreement. This consequently contributes to social globalisation. The EU also operates as a single market, where the free movement of goods, capital, services and labour is allowed, thereby contributing to economic globalisation as FDI is promoted between member states.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

ASEAN is a trade bloc which consists of 10 member states, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and other south east Asian countries. ASEAN also promotes free trade between member states through encouraging the removal of trade barriers such as tariffs, and the abandonment of protectionist attitudes. ASEAN also promotes peace and within its agreement, its members have pledged to not have nuclear weapons. ASEAN is also looking towards introducing a single market similar to the one of the EU, however, this will be called the ASEAN economic community.

Question 10

Apart from promoting the formation of trade blocs, suggest and explain 3 other ways in which governments act as key players within the context of globalisation.

Answer 10

1) Privatisation

This is the transfer of a business, industry, or service from the public sector (government owned) to private (private investors) ownership and control. This promotes economic globalisation as most private investors tend to be situated abroad. Privatisation leads to businesses becoming more efficient as private investors tend to be motivated by maximising profits, this can be beneficial to governments as much of these profits can be collected through corporation tax which can be channeled into the construction of new infrastructure for instance. However, one consequence of businesses becoming more efficient is the fact that they seek to lower costs, this of which is sometimes achieved through reducing the amount of employees working for these businesses.

For example, in the UK the steel, car, electricity, gas and water industries were all state owned but are now privately owned.

2) Free-market liberalisation

Free-market or economic liberalisation is the process by which countries open up their economies or markets to outside competition in the form of other businesses or TNCs, thereby ending the reign of various monopolies.
Governments may adopt such attitudes or policies to promote greater economic growth within their countries, as the introduction of new firms can create new jobs which serves as a positive multiplier effect. However, it also promotes economic globalisation, as foreign TNCs are able to invest in other countries.

3) Encouragement of business start-ups

Many governments make changes to local law and provide low business tax or “tax holidays”, as well as grants and loans. This encourages the start up of both domestic and foreign businesses within a country, thereby promoting FDI and consequently contributing to economic globalisation.

For example, Italy has changed laws and removed restrictions on Chinese investors who want to start up textile companies within the EU.

Question 11

What is a special economic zone, explain why governments may create such zones and give a example of one.

Answer 11

A special area, often near the tax, where favourable conditions are created to attract foreign direct investment from TNCs. Favourable conditions range from low tax rates, tax holidays and exemption from tariffs and export duties.

Governments establish special economic zones to attract FDI from foreign TNCs who bring a range of benefits. These can range from the creation of jobs, and therefore a positive multiplier effect, the transfer of information and technology, as well as the collection of some corporation tax which although is lowered, can be put towards the construction of infrastructure key to a countries development. This consequently contributes to or accelerates economic globalisation.

For example, China’s open door policy

In 1978 China introduced its open door policy which aimed on opening China’s market or economy to the outside world. This followed with the establishment of 4 special economic zones in cities such as Shenzhen. This led to major FDI towards China which boosted it’s economic growth. In the 1990s it was estimated that 50% of China’s GDP was being generated in its SEZs alone.

Question 12

Other than establishing special economic zones, explain one other way in which governments may attract FDI into their country.

Answer 12

Governments may decide to offer businesses and foreign TNCs subsidies in the form of tax incentives, tax exemptions and no tariffs on imports or exports. This encourages foreign TNCs to invest in these countries, further contributing to economic globalisation.

Question 13

What two measures can be used to measure the degree of globalisation within a country ?

Answer 13

AT Kearney Index

KOF Index

Question 14

How does the KOF Index measure globalisation ?

Answer 14

The KOF Index is a composite measure and measures the degree of globalisation within various countries based on three aspects, these of which are economic globalisation, political globalisation and socio-cultural globalisation. Various variables are measured within each of these 3 aspects of globalisation. Based on these 3 aspects of globalisation, each country is given a rank score out of 100, with 100 being the highest score and indicating that a country is most globalised, and 0 being the lowest score, indicating that a country is not globalised at all.

Variables measured to determine a country’s economic globalisation include the amount of cross border trade and foreign direct invest within the country.

Variables measured to determine a country’s political globalisation include number of foreign embassies within a country, participation within any relevant trade blocs, as well as intergovernmental organisations.

Variables used to measure social globalisation include the amount of international telephone calls, tourist and migrant flows and the amount of foreigners within a population.

Question 15

How does the AT Kearney Index measure globalisation ?

Answer 15

The AT Kearney Index is also a composite measure which measures the degree of globalisation within a country. However, different to the KOF Index it is based upon four main aspects, these of which are political engagement, technological connectivity, personal contact and economic integration.

Political engagement - A country’s participation in national treaties and organisations, participation in peacekeeping missions and the number of embassies it has.

Technological activity - The number of internet users, hosts and servers

Personal contact - The amount of telephone calls and remittances

Economic integration - Volume of international trade and FDI

Question 16

What is a TNC ?

Answer 16

A TNC is a transnational corporation whose business activities are not restricted within the dimensions of one country, but are spread across dimensions of multiple countries.

Question 17

Name and explain the ways in which TNCs contribute to globalisation.

Answer 17

1 ) Glocalisation

TNCs such as McDonalds may change or alter their products within particular countries or regions within the world to suit the local needs of people maybe due to preferences or religion. For example, McDonalds altered its menu and included the McSpicy Paneer within some of its Indian branches. This contributes to cultural globalisation, leading to a process known as westernisation or McDonaldisation within this particular context, as domestic people adopt the values of some western cultures. These values can include the addition of fast foods or unhealthy foods into more healthy diets which consist of mostly vegetables in most Asian countries. For example, in the 1990s China’s annual meat consumption rose tenfold from 5kg to 50kg.

2) FDI

TNCs can take advantage of the liberisation of markets within different countries through investing within them. This investment often takes the form of either offshoring or outsourcing. Offshoring is when a transnational corporation moves part of its activities abroad, and this may be due to several reasons, however, common reasons include the exploitation of natural resources as well as cheap labour and manufacturing costs. In contrast outsourcing is the process in which a TNC hires or contracts another company abroad in another country to manufacture some of their goods for instance. Over time a single transnational company can outsource to a multitude of different countries, thereby giving birth to a global production network. This contributes predominantly to economic globalisation as foreign TNCs are investing and spreading their operations further abroad.

Question 18

What are the 4 reasons as to why some nations may be considered as “switched-off” from the outside world and globalisation, and explain each.

Answer 18

1 ) Political factors

Some countries may be run under strict governments who follow strict ideologies. These ideologies may result in the isolation of these countries from the external world maybe through limited trade, censorship of media and data for instance. North Korea, for example, is a politically isolated country which is run by a strict communist government. Within North Korea, domestic people have no access to the internet or social media platforms, and therefore no genuine knowledge of the outside world, reflecting upon its lack of cultural and social globalisation. Their market is regulated by the government and almost all businesses, industries or services are state-owned, and therefore there has been no flows of capital in the form of FDI towards North Korea, and so it has not experienced economic globalisation. The country is not apart of any major IGO’s and rarely imports/exports any commodities, therefore, it also is not politically globalised. The significance of North Korea’s isolation is quite well represented by the fact that nobody knew the song ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles according to a journalist, as well as North Korea’s low social globalisation score of 18 on the KOF Index of 2018.

2) Economic factors

Other countries, however, may be under serious debt. This may be the result of a countries exposure to multiple natural hazards, in which it has had to rely upon external aid to cope and recover from these disasters. Consequently, the ability of these governments to offer tax incentives or establish special economic zones is diminished, and therefore they tend to experience less economic globalisation within their countries. In addition to this, these countries are also less able to invest in important infrastructure such as railway networks, roads and even ports, thereby making these countries seem as less attractive to foreign TNCs who seek to expand their operations. For example, in 2016 Kazakhstan had a foreign debt of $164 billion, and has therefore been unable to establish any economic links. The country had an economic globalisation score of 43 on the KOF Index, with 100 being the highest (2018).

3) Physical factors

Some countries may be landlocked by mountainous terrain and may have no access to the coast. This may deem the country as unattractive to potential investors, such as transnational corporations who wish to set up manufacturing or production plants within these countries as a lack of coast or access to the sea means that commodities or manufactured goods are harder to import/export. Furthermore, other countries may lack natural resources, further deeming them as unnattractive to foreign TNCs whom require these resources for the production of their products. This, therefore, limits the amount of economic, as well as political globalisation within these countries. For example, the Himalayan mountain country of Nepal is landlocked by mountainous terrain and winter snow, and has struggled to make connections with the outside world. Nepal had an economic globalisation score of 32.07 on the KOF Index in 2018.

4) Environmental factors

Some countries such as those situated within the Sahel region of Africa are subject to harsh weather conditions, these of which include the frequent occurrence of hydrological and meteorological drought events which are often caused by the blocked movement of the intertropical convergence zone caused by high pressure blocking anticyclones. Drought within these regions of the world most likely results in famine drought and survival is a big challenge. For these countries the survival of their people and industries outweighs the focus of becoming more globalised significantly. For example, Chad is a country situated within the Sahel region of Africa, which experienced a drought event in 2012 and before that in 2007, the failure of agriculture systems to provide food for communities within these events saw widespread famine, and so Chad has struggled with making external links, and has instead focussed on preparing and mitigating for the next drought event. In 2018 Chad had an overall KOF Globalisation Index score of 40.1.

Question 19

What is meant by the term “global shift” ?

Answer 19

Global shift means the spatial movement of the global economy to the East, towards countries of the likes of China and India, as businesses are increasingly investing in Asia to take advantage of cheap labour and manufacturing costs, as well as natural resources.

Question 20

Name and explain some of the costs experienced within developing nations, as a result of global shift.

Answer 20

Transnational corporations investing within the east tend to do so to take advantage of cheap labour and manufacturing costs as well as natural resources, and involves them moving some of their production plants to developing nations such as China for instance. This brings about many environmental impacts, however, as most if not all of these manufacturing plants use machinery which runs on fossil fuels such as coal. Consequently, the burning or combustion of such resources to power machinery emits vast amounts of greenhouse gasses such as CO2, having significant impacts on the environment. For example, Beijing in China is of those many cities which suffers from severe pollution due to industrial processes. Air pollution within Beijing is regularly well above the World Health Organisation’s safe limits. Furthermore, it is also common for some manufacturing plants to pollute water sources especially in countries which lack appropriate environmental laws. This can have severe environmental impacts, however, it can also pose social problems as the availability of much depended on water resources is decreased. For example, around 50% of China’s surface water stores ( e.g. rivers and lakes ) are polluted to an extent so much so that they are unsafe to drink untreated.

In other developing nations, however, the lack of environmental laws has led to the overexploitation of natural resources, which are needed to manufacture various commodities. For example, the Amazon Rainforest within Brazil, a country which constantly receives criticism about its lack of environmental laws, experiences deforestation of the size of the US state of Delaware every year. This is due to the many transnational corporations who wish to convert deforested land into palm tree farms for acquiring palm oil, an essential resource needed for the manufacturing of foods such as chocolates, as well as biodiesels and shampoo.

Question 21

What two factors are responsible for the growth of megacities ?

Answer 21

Rural-urban migration accounts for 60% of urban growth, whilst rapid natural increase accounts for 40% of urban growth.

Question 22

Explain why internal (rural-urban) migration occurs, the benefits and costs of migration and name a megacity which has experienced significant growth because of this.

Answer 22

Migration is a permanent move from one place to a new place, of one year or more. Migration occurs due to various push and pull factors. Pull factors are attractive features which “pull” or attract migrants to a given place such as an urban city. Pull factors can include greater and equal access to education and healthcare ( excellent provision of services ), higher income jobs ( & more economic opportunities ) which are needed to sustain the livelihoods of people and an overall greater quality of life. Push factors, however, are those factors which “push” or cause a person to leave a given area and migrate to a new place. Push factors can range from more severe war and ongoing conflict to the presence of multiple inequalities within an area.

When migration is of the external kind, it contributes significantly to social globalisation, as well as cultural globalisation as people have been know to bring their cultures to new countries.

Karachi is a megacity within Pakistan which has suffered from rapid and accelerated population growth due to migration. For example, its population has grown from 9.8 million in 1998 to 15 million in 2017.

Migration, however, can lead to various social and environmental challenges. Housing within the cities experiencing rapid population growth due to migration tends to be of limited supply, and therefore the growth of slums and shanty towns is left to meet the demand for housing within these cities. For example, 50% of Karachi’s population lives within shanty towns. On some occasions, shanty towns may see their construction on areas at risk from tectonic hazards, a factor which usually contributes to the high death tolls of tectonic hazards within developing nations, as developed nations legislate land-use policies to prevent this. Shanty towns lack proper water and power infrastructure which brings the quality of life down. Rapid population growth can also see the decrease of available jobs, and therefore many new migrants have no choice but to work within the informal sector to make a means of living. Work within this sector tends to be dangerous and unsafe posing further social impacts on people. 75% of Karachi’s population works within the informal sector, for instance.

Question 23

Explain why international migration occurs, the benefits and costs, and name some examples.

Answer 23

International migration may occur within global hub cities. These are cities which are unusually very well connected to the outside world, socially, politically and economically. Many large TNCs have established their headquarters and operations within these global hub cities, these of which require employees which are specialised within the tertiary, quaternary and quinary industrial sectors. This, therefore, attracts highly skilled and qualified economic migrants, such as lawyers, doctors and bankers to these areas, contributing to social globalisation, as well as benefiting the recipient country’s economy. International migration may also occur as wealthy people, such as the Russian Oligarchs, may have invested within property, businesses or industries within these global hub cities, and may have opted to also live there. For example, London. In addition to this, wealthy people living within these global hub cities are often known for employing maids, drivers and nannies, roles which are often taken up by low skilled migrants. For example, there are around 1 million low skilled workers within Saudi Arabia, which have migrated from the Philippines.

International migration can bring about many benefits, as well as implications to both source and host countries.

Economic benefits :

Source - Migrants, especially elite migrants, tend to
lead to the significant flows of capital, in the
form of remittances, from host countries to
source countries, back home.

Host - Many high paying jobs are taken up by highly
qualified and skilled migrants, such as doctors and
lawyers. This contributes to the economy through
income tax.

Economic costs :

Source - The migration of highly skilled and qualified
people may reduce the county’s workforce and
contribute to a brain drain.

Host - This tends to not be the case in most situations,
however, there are debates that economic
migrants are “taking the jobs of the host country’s
population”, therefore, reducing the amount of
economic opportunities for domestic people.

Social benefits :

Source - Population pressures may be relieved, and
therefore demands for houses, education and
healthcare services decreases.

Host - Migrants tend to be of a young age, and can
therefore counteract an increasingly ageing
populations. Migrants can lead to cultural
diversification as they bring their cultures from
their indigenous countries.

Social costs :

Source - Young populations tend to be lost. Families are
broken up as children tend to migrate.
However, advancements in ICT have
introduced social networking platforms such as
skype, therefore, enabling families to
communicate over large distances.

Host - Demands for housing, education and schooling
increase.

Environmental benefits :

Source - Resource pressures are reduced, and prevents
further environmental degradation or
exploitation.

Environmental costs :

Host - Migration leads to the demand for more housing
which is met by the construction of more houses.
However, as there tends to be limited space,
houses tend to be built on green space, thereby
destroying habitats and reducing biodiversity.

Question 24

What is cultural diffusion ?

Answer 24

Cultural diffusion is the spread of one country’s culture and beliefs or ideologies over a geographical area to another country, as a result of globalisation.

Question 25

Explain the different ways in which globalisation contributes to cultural diffusion.

Answer 25

Globalisation contributes to cultural diffusion through the migration of people. The migration of people into a new country inevitably and ultimately brings people into contact with new cultures, and their characteristics, such as foods and languages. For example, throughout the imperial era, British migrants travelling to India, a country colonised by the British Empire, brought with them their language, English, and sports such as cricket. Within the 21st century approximately 10% of India’s population is English-speaking, and cricket has proven to be a popular sport within the country.

Globalisation has also contributed to cultural diffusion through driving advancements in ICT, which have simultaneously accelerated the process of globalisation. Advancements in ICT have made technologies such as the smartphone, smartpad and television more accessible across the entire world. These devices ensure the broadcast of western cultures through media giants such as the BBC, Disney and Hollywood films. From these the cultures of western countries are watched globally and can be adopted, thereby resulting in cultural diffusion.

Globalisation has also seen the growth and expansion of many large TNCs into new countries and regions of the world. TNCs can contribute to cultural diffusion in a multitude of different ways, predominantly through westernisation or more accurately Americanisation. Large TNCs such has McDonalds who have moved abroad sell the foods of American culture (e.g. french fries and burgers), these foods can sometimes be sold at a much cheaper price than indigenous and traditional foods which mostly consist of vegetables. Consequently, as incomes within these regions of the world tend to be relatively low, domestic people usually opt for the cheaper alternative of American fast foods, thereby leading to cultural globalisation. Alternatively, the western concept of eating unhealthy foods can also be adopted through the presence of various western fast food TNCs, and this is portrayed by the changing diets within Asia. For example, in China, throughout the 1990s, annual meat consumption rose tenfold from 5kg to 50kg per person.

Question 26

How can globalisation lead to development ?

Answer 26

Globalisation has led to great social and economic development within some cities, as well as countries through boosting economic growth significantly by increasing trade between countries and providing millions with relatively high income jobs in good working conditions. However, globalisation has also failed to develop some cities and countries, thereby contributing to a widening development gap between the world’s richest and poor. For example, Luxembourg has enjoyed the development globalisation has brought about quite significantly. The country had an average income of $100000 per person annually, whereas Sudan had an average income of only $220 per capita annually. This stresses the significance of the widening development gap. Globalisation has also created some implications for the physical environment as well. These varying levels of social and economic development, as well as environmental quality can be measured by different single and composite indices.

Question 27

What indices could be used to measure economic and social development, as well as environmental quality, and explain each.

Answer 27

Economic development can be measured using income per capita, economic sector balance and GDP.

Social development can be measured using the HDI and GII

Environmental quality is typically measured using air pollution indices.

It is important to remember that when assessing the value of different development indices, that their reliability ( is the data accurate and trustworthy ) and validity ( is this specific measure ideal for measuring social development for instance ) is considered.

Question 28

Explain the measure of income per capita, and comment on its strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 28

Income per capita is the average amount of money each individual within a population makes. It is calculated through collecting and collating the incomes of all individuals within a population into one single value and dividing this by the country’s population.

Economic development is the process by which a country’s employment, income and industrial growth increases, and therefore income per capita which measures the average income of each individual within a population is valid in the context of measuring economic development within a country.

Income per capita is a single measure and is calculated for each country within the world, and therefore is a great index for comparing the levels of economic development between countries, and within countries as it is calculated yearly and can be compared to previous years to see how a country has economically developed.

However, income per capita can be quite unreliable. This is because, the mean value of a countries average income per capita is subject to inflation if a country’s population consisted of a very small percentage of people whose incomes are extremely high relative to the remaining population. This makes it hard to judge economic development within a country as only a small percentage of its population is making near or above the average income value, whilst the rest is earning well below.

Furthermore, to make the income per capita values of different countries more comparable, the currency is changed to US dollars. This can introduce an element of inaccuracy within the reading due to constant changing exchange rates, thereby meaning the value is different to the true value if current exchange rates are taken to account.

Question 29

Explain the measure of GDP, and comment on its strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 29

GDP is the final value of the output of goods and services within a nation’s borders. GDP is one of if not the most preferred indices used to measure a country’s economic development. It is calculated yearly and so can also be easily compared between countries as can income per capita.

A strength of GDP would be the fact that purchasing power parity is factored into the value of a country’s GDP, taking into consideration a country’s cost of living, as this can vary greatly between different countries of different levels of development.

GDP is a composite measure, and this introduces various elements of inaccuracy or unreliability within its reading. When calculating GDP it is quite difficult to account for all of the earnings of businesses and individuals who work illegally, unregistered or within the informal sector. Often times capital produced within the informal sector tends to account for a great proportion of a country’s actual GDP value, and so GDP values tend to differ greatly from the true values.

Similar to income per capita, the currency of a country’s GDP is changed to US dollars. This can introduce an element of inaccuracy within the reading due to constant changing exchange rates, thereby meaning the value is different to the true value if current exchange rates are taken to account.

Question 30

Explain the measure of economic sector balance, and comment on its strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 30

Economic sector balance divides a country’s economic activity between 4 industrial sectors, these of which are the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors. This is a valid measurement to use when measuring the economic development within a country at employment and how it varies within each sector, industrial growth and to some extent income as it varies between different industrial sectors.

Economic sector balance can give a good understanding of a country’s development, and this is because as a country becomes more economically developed more of their economic activity will be accounted for by tertiary and quaternary industrial sectors.

However, every few years the formula used to calculate the contribution different sectors make to a country’s total national income (economic sector balance) is changed. This can introduce elements of unreliability as these formulas can sometimes be inaccurate, thereby resulting in a value for the economic sector balance within the country which differs from the true value. These values can also be used to calculate a value for the GDP, thereby making that value inaccurate also. For example, Nigeria made a new formula used to calculate its economic sector balance in 2013. Within this new formula agricultural contributions to its national income decreased from 35% to 22%, and ICT 1% to 9%. As a result, Nigeria’s nominal GDP value unusually doubled overnight.

Question 31

Explain the HDI, and comment on its strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 31

The Human Development Index is a composite index which measures the social development within a country. It is calculated using the GNI of a country, the average life expectancy of a country, as well as the mean years of schooling within a country.

This is a valid measure to be used when measuring social development within a country as it looks at access to healthcare, housing and education and those countries who are less socially development will have less of these, and therefore tend to have a low life expectancy age, as well as a low mean years for schooling.

The HDI tends to be calculated yearly, and there is data for the HDI of countries taken in previous years, and so it can easily be compared between countries as well as within a country, to see how far they have developed. The HDI also is very accurate, however, the accuracy of data collected within some developing nations and countries may be hard to confirm. In addition to this, the HDI gives a broad sense of the development of a country as whole, and ceases to identify unequal distributions within a country itself.

Question 32

Explain the GII, and comment on its strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 32

The Gender Inequality Index is another composite index which also measures the social development within a country. It takes into account reproductive health, empowerment and labour force participation rate of female and male populations. Countries which are more socially developed tend to be have fewer gender inequalities, where men and women are viewed equally in society. However, the GII doesn’t necessarily capture the full breadth of gender inequality within a country, and fails to realise that many women within a country are still given the unfair burden of caregiving and housekeeping.

Question 33

Explain air pollution indices, and comment on their strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 33

Air pollution indices measure the quality of air within a given country. They can also give a relatively accurate indication of a country’s development as developing countries tend to be growing and are undergoing the process of rapid industrialisation which sees the mass consumption of fossil fuels such as gas and coal, thereby leading to vast greenhouse emissions which deteriorate the air quality within a country. Developed nations on the other hand tend to have a better air quality as they have already undergone the process of rapid industrialisation decades ago. For example, China, a developing nation in Asia, accounts for almost 50% of all the world’s coal consumption.

The global Environmental Performance Index, for example, takes into account the quality of air within people’s houses, as well as the amount of pollution found outdoors (i.e. the quality of air outdoors).

Question 34

What is a diaspora ?

Answer 34

A diaspora is the name given to the dispersal of a population overseas within another country.

Question 35

What factors have increased the pace of migration ?

Answer 35

FDI ( labour )
Trade blocs ( Open borders and the free movement of people )
Humanitarian crises ( War )
Deregulation of some jobs

Question 36

Why have tensions risen over migration ?

Answer 36

In some countries migration has created thriving diaspora communities which have introduced many well appreciated cultural traits. For example, the Indian diaspora within Brick Lane in London.

Migrants, like the rest of us, require housing, jobs, education and healthcare, as well as many other services, and this can give rise to extremism towards migration within a very small percentage of the host countries population. This is because these people may be experiencing various social and economic inequalities, and therefore question the fact that some migrants have access to housing or jobs that the host population do not, for instance. This tends to be present within some of the EU’s constituent countries. For example, in 2014, Switzerland held a referendum in which 51% of votes were towards stopping mass immigration .

Question 37

Why has globalisation led to ethical and environmental concerns ?

Answer 37

Globalisation has led to ethical and environmental concerns due to its social and environmental unsustainability. It has led to the extraction of natural resources from physical environments, as well as the usage of machinery which emit greenhouse gasses, and as a result has led to environmental degradation. Therefore, globalisation has put the ability of future generations to continue to carry out these processes and meet with their demands in jeopardy. Additionally, workers all around the world, predominantly within developing countries, are being paid minimum wages and are working within unsafe and dangerous conditions, something which cannot continue to occur due to its social unsustainability.

Question 38

What is being done to counteract the social and environmental unsustainability of globalisation ?

Answer 38

Localism attitudes being adopted

Recycling

Ethical consumption schemes being adopted

Fair trading

Question 39

What is localism ?

Answer 39

Localism is the process in which small towns in particular are becoming increasingly self-sufficient and independent through growing and manufacturing their own foods and goods locally, supporting jobs locally rather than such foods and goods being sourced globally.

Question 40

What are the costs and benefits to the process of localism

Answer 40

Benefits

Localism has many environmental benefits and this is because, through sourcing foods locally, towns and other settlements are reducing their contribution to the growth of foods unsustainably through decreasing their consumption. This increases environmental sustainability, as local foods and goods are sourced in a way and rate that environmental impacts are reduced, and will not affect the ability of future generations to meet their demands through sourcing their foods and goods using the same methods and processes. For example, one way in which growing foods locally decreases environmental impacts is the fact that energy usage is cut down significantly, as these goods are not having to be transported across the world, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Localism also has many economic benefits, and this is because localism relies on local businesses to grow and source food. Local businesses employ local people, thereby leading to a positive multiplier effect, were money is circulated within the local area.

Costs

The prices of foods grown locally may be significantly more expensive than other alternatives, and this may be because of the expensive equipment needed to make the local sourcing and growing of food more eco friendly and environmentally sustainable. For example, the use of smart irrigation systems. Consequently, some people may be unable to purchase such locally sourced foods, and therefore unable to contribute their part to the process of localism.

Question 41

Give an example of a transition town

Answer 41

Todmorden is an example of a transition town and is situated in the South Pennies. Todmorden has adopted localism attitudes, attempting to increase sustainability and decrease their reliance upon global trade. It has establish 40 local fruit and vegetable gardens from which it sustainably grows its own food.

Question 42

Why may countries or their governments try to limit the spread of globalisation ?

Answer 42

The political ideologies of some countries such as China’s and North Korea’s communist regimes, may oppose the concepts of globalisation and the process of interconnectedness. Other countries, however, may want to protect their businesses from international competition, as well as their countries from international migration which has led to cultural dilution and greater demands for housing, education, economic opportunities and healthcare.

Question 43

What are the three ways in which governments or countries may attempt to reduce or control the spread of globalisation ?

Answer 43

Protectionism

Censorship

Limiting Immigration

Question 44

Explain how the censorship of information attempts to limit the spread of globalisation.

Answer 44

Globalisation often leads to the flow of data and information which may be viewed as fake within some countries, or may object to the ideologies of countries.

Therefore, governments have devised many strategies to reduce this flow of information into their countries through the utilisation of censorship. For example, the communist government in China has constructed a firewall which regulates if not bans the flow of data or information into China, as well as the use of western social networking platforms such as Whatsapp, and has instead devised its own version going by the name of WeChat.

Question 45

Explain how limiting migration attempts to limit the spread of globalisation.

Answer 45

Although migration can be beneficial in most cases, in other cases it can lead to greater pressures and demands for healthcare, housing, education and economic opportunities, and in some cases can result in cultural dilution. To prevent the aforementioned from happening some countries may try to limit migration, with the aim of controlling the spread of cultural and social globalisation.

Governments have devised many strategies to limit migration, and one of these involves the point-based system imposed by Australia, and later followed by the UK. This system works on awarding immigrants points based on their skills, qualifications, education and language for instance, and by implementing this, governments are limiting the flow of immigration to just. those people that meet the country’s demand.

Question 46

Explain how adopting protectionist attitudes attempts to limit the spread of globalisation.

Answer 46

Protectionism is an attitude adopted by governments which involves imposing import tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers against foreign TNCs in order to protect their domestic TNCs from external competition. This, therefore, discourages foreign TNCs to invest within a country, consequently controlling the spread of economic globalisation within a country.

For example, the US imposed import tariffs in 2018, to protect its “most at-risk” industries, such as steel and aluminium industries.

Question 47

Why would some groups seek to retain control over physical resources ?

Answer 47

Some indigenous groups may want to retain control over the physical resources native to their land in order to reserve and protect them, as globalisation has meant that large TNCs such as Shell and Exxon Mobile are exploiting natural resources around the world to fuel their growth.

For example, the indigenous people of 643 recognised groups and collectively known as the FIrst Nations, were facing pressures from large TNCs such as Exxonmobil who have started hydraulic fracturing operations within the territories of these indigenous people. Consequently, the First Nations people represented their views about the exploitation of these resources and how it should halt through campaigns (e.g. Idle No More).

Question 48

What player promotes localism ?

Answer 48

NGOs such as “Transition Network” which was founded in 2006, encourage towns and settlements to grow their own fruit and vegetables in community gardens.

Question 49

What is ethical consumption and how does ethical consumption help contribute to environmental and social sustainability ?

Answer 49

Ethical consumption is when consumers deliberately consume products which have been manufactured, sourced or grown sustainably with respect to the environment and ethically. Some criteria used by some consumers to determine whether a product is ethical or not would be whether the product was manufactured in safe working conditions or sustainably farmed for instance.

Question 50

What player encourages ethical consumption and has made it possible ?

Answer 50

NGOs such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) have enabled for the ethical consumption worldwide through giving their stamp of approval on products which meeth ethical and environmental products. This ensures consumers that products have been produced or grown ethically and have caused limited damage to physical environments. For example, the FSC uses its globally known stamp on wood products which have not contributed to environmental degradation, and have been produced by workers whom have had access to clean and safe working conditions and have been paid sufficiently.

Question 51

How does recycling help increase environmental sustainability ?

Answer 51

Recycling helps increase environmental sustainability through reducing the amount of waste going into landfill, as well as the amount of natural resources being extracted for the manufacturing of various products, thereby decreasing the amount of environmental impacts and increasing environmental sustainability.

Question 52

What are the limitations of recycling ?

Answer 52

Some products, however, are non-recyclable, and therefore not everything can be recycled. Recycling also requires expensive technology, and therefore countries are either not willing enough to utilise recycling methods or the use of recycling within many poor developing nations is eliminated as technology is simply to expensive, especially as these developing countries are facing other struggles (e.g. population pressures). Consequently, not all environmental impacts are reduced.