Unit 9: Topic 4 - A Changing Economy Flashcards
What is globalization?
Globalization is the process by which technological, economic, political, financial, and cultural exchanges between peoples and nations make the world a more interconnected and interdependent place.
For AP US History, you should know that there was a major increase in globalization in the 1990’s through economic agreements, free trade, and increased immigration between countries.
What effect did globalization have on society?
Globalization enmeshed the United States with the rest of the world. It helped increase the flow and development of businesses, communication, and technology.
For example, globalization increased trade, investment flow, currency exchange, and the rise of multinational corporations within the business world.
How did globalization negatively impact society?
Though globalization revolutionized the world, it heightened the risk of global economic catastrophes and terrorist networks.
The heightened risk of global economic catastrophes stemming from banking or financial failures in one country will lead to another crisis. For example, the Great Recession of 2008, where the financial crisis in the United States subprime mortgage markets led to a global economic meltdown.
Global terrorist networks used conditions created by globalization to enhance their own influence and to promote a culture of intolerance and hate. For example, the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, which perpetrated the attack on 9/11, used mobile phone technology and the internet to coordinate their plans.
How did the Digital Revolution revolutionize the way people interacted with each other?
Technological advancements like mobile phones and the internet connect people from all over the globe. The web links billions of people and devices, opening up opportunities for the exchange of goods, services, cultural products, knowledge, and ideas.
In what ways did the advent of the computer and the internet change workplaces and the economy?
Creating and developing personal, at-home computers changed the way of life in workplaces and the economy. Originally, computers were the size of a room but were eventually made smaller with transistors and microprocessors. These smaller computers were made more accessible, affordable, and ubiquitous, allowing people direct access to the internet. Companies like Apple and Microsoft, who made these personal computers, helped increase automation and digital workflow in factories and companies through the internet.
For example, emailing replaced letter writing, and file sharing allowed for information to be shared publicly.
What is NAFTA?
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was made by the United States, Canada, and Mexico to remove barriers to the free flow of people, goods, and services between the nations. This agreement led to greater trade, investment, and migration across national borders, increasing the economic growth and prosperity of the respective countries.
However, free trade and open markets has led to many losing their jobs in certain sectors and industries. For example, NAFTA moved almost three-quarters of a million manufacturing jobs out of the US and into Mexico, but US trade with Mexico increased directly due to the agreement.
What has caused the growing income inequality in the 1970s and onwards?
The effects of the unstable economy in the 1970s and then the deindustrialization and deregulation of the 1980s and the 1990s meant that the US economy did really well for some people and failed to help others. Economic inequality increased as real wages for the working, and middle class stayed the same–when adjusted for inflation–from the 1970s through the 21st century.
Some saw the Reagan and Bush Sr. tax cuts as policies that benefited the rich and left the rest behind. Working and middle-class people could no longer have union protection, and steady jobs were replaced by manufacturing jobs, often minimum-wage service sector jobs.
How did the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (1994) affect labor unions?
The General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (1994) made it easier for businesses to find other countries to outsource manufacturing labor to where people were willing to work for less money. This has caused the decline of many labor unions within the United States.
There have been nine rounds of the GATT between 1947 and 1995. In general, the agreements have lowered tariffs and trade barriers, setting the stage for a more interconnected and prosperous global economy.
