what are the consequences of globalisation for development and the environment

Question 1

what is an example of an alternative to globalisation?

Answer 1

focus on local communities and local production, and attempt to be more sustainable socially, economically and environmentally.

Question 2

what is the development gap and give an example of where this is prevalent.

Answer 2

the reference to the difference between the rich and the poor.
china:
coastal cities per capita income’s over $10,000 whereas rural west’s under $2000

Question 3

what does development refer to?

Answer 3

progress, usually in social (health, diet, life expectancy, housing quality), and economic (income) terms.

Question 4

what are some examples of composite indices used to determine the development of an area?
why are composite indices good?

Answer 4

HDI (human development index)- combines life expectancy, income and years of education.
GII (gender inequality index)- combines the reproductive health of women, their participation in the workforce and empowerment (women in politics and higher education to measure gender aspect of development.

focus on social and economic development and therefore are a better reflection of the overall development of an area

Question 5

give evidence for the widening income inequality.

Answer 5

-in 2016 Oxfam stated that the wealth of the world richest 1% of people is equivalent to the wealth of the other 99%.

Question 6

what is used to measure a countries income inequality

Answer 6

the Gini Coefficient

divides income into quintuplets (20% intervals) plotted as a Lorenz curve.

Question 7

give examples of winners of globalisation

Answer 7

• there were about 1800 billionaires worldwide in 2016; most have made their wealth through ownership of TNC’s.
• developed countries have proved very good at maintaining their wealth, despite the rise of countries like China.
• the rising middle class of factory and call centre workers in Asia, whose incomes have risen as they have gained outsourced and offshored jobs.
• people who work for TNC’s in developed countries who have a high income and reasonable job security.

Question 8

give examples of losers of globalisation

Answer 8

• isolated rural populations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where subsistence farming still dominates and global connections are thin
• workers in old industrial cities in the developed world have generally lost jobs
• workers in sweatshop factories in emerging countries: suffer exploitation (but still remain better off than in the rural areas they migrated from)
• slum dwellers in developing world megacities like Lagos, as the reality or urban life, is often much worse than they expected.

Question 9

what is an ecological footprint and what can it be used to do?

Answer 9

a measure of the resources used by a country, business or person over the course of a year. It is measured in global hectares.

can be used to determine the environmental impact of development and globalisation.

Question 10

what, in terms of migration, has globalisation caused?

Answer 10

an increase in diasporas:

the dispersal of population overseas.

Question 11

what are some factors that have increases migration?

Answer 11

• open borders to migration within the EU since 1995
• FDI, encourages TNC workers to move overseas
• deregulation of some job markets, allowing foreign qualified workers.
• Humanitarian crisis, like the Syrian civil war, which has seen large numbers of refugees flee to Europe since 2011.

Question 12

what evidence is there that migration in Europe has increases social and political tensions?

Answer 12

• UK ‘Brexit’ vote 2016 to leave the EU had the scale and pace of immigration as a key area of debate.
• Anti-immigration political parties have been rising in popularity since 2010 (UKIP in the uk, the Front National in France, the Freedom Party of Austria)
• in 2014 51% of Swiss voted in favour of stopping mass immigration in a national referendum
• Even in the USA, a country of immigrants, the benefits of migration from Mexico and elsewhere have been questioned.

Question 13

what are three examples of countries controlling the spread of globalisation?

Answer 13

North Korea- the internet is banned because supreme leader Kim Jong-un does not want his people to have access to western ideas.
Australia- use the points-based immigration system to match immigration to actual economic needs and job vacancies.
China- even though the internet is used by 52& of the population, it is still very much censored as some searches for politically sensitive topics get no results because the Chinese communist party seeks to prevent ‘unhelpful discussions’.

Question 14

what is meant by a point-based immigration system?

Answer 14

when a system awards points to potential immigrants based on education, skills, language proficiency and other criteria so that migrants are matched to a country’s needs.

Question 15

what is an example of an area attempting to retain its cultural identity and prevent it from being eroded by cultural globalisation?

Answer 15

The First Nations of Canada.

Question 16

what do the first nations of Canada do to retain its cultural identity and deter cultural erosions caused by globalisation?

Answer 16

• After decades of being taught to be ‘Canadian’ in boarding schools, modern First Nations school teach native languages and traditions.
• Festivals and other meetings help to preserve the First Nations traditions of oral histories and other practices.
• Within Indian Reservation territories, bands are largely self-governing, allowing them to make key decisions about their future.

Question 17

what are some ethical and environmental concerns regarding globalisation?

Answer 17

• fears that consumer goods have been made using exploited labour.
• concerns that imported food producers like tea, coffee, bananas and cocoa do not provide their farmers with a decent income due to low prices.
• concerns that consumer goods use excessive resources during their production, packaging, transport and use.
• worries that our consumer culture is contributing to global warming as ecological footprints rise.

Question 18

what’s meant by ethical issues?

Answer 18

ethical issue are those which have a moral dimension, and concern whether something is acceptable. child labour is an example of something most people find unethical-morally unacceptable.

Question 19

what is meant by localism?

Answer 19

the idea that food and goods should be grown and made locally, supporting local jobs and reducing transport rather than being sourced globally.

Question 20

what are four examples of key responses to the social and environmental ethical issues raised by globalisation and globalised consumer products?

Answer 20

• transition towns
• fair trade
• ethical consumption schemes
• recycling

Question 21

how do transition towns combat issues raised by globalisation?

Answer 21

transition towns like Todmorden encourage towns to grow their own food in community gardens (not import it) and reduce energy used in transport e.g cycling and recycling waste/reusing materials.

these initiatives are small scale, but some elements like the ‘grow your own’ could have big impacts if widely adopted and promoting local sourcing became more widespread.

Question 22

how does fair trade combat issues raised by globalisation?

Answer 22

fair trade- rather than free trade- pays farmers of cocoa, cotton, tea and coffee in developing countries a guaranteed price for their produce plus a ‘fair train premium’ payment. this attempts to reduce the inequalities of global trade.
the aim is to make incomes sustainable for farmers, and use some of the additional money to support community facilities like wells, schools and clinics.
the downsides of fair trade are that the extra income is small, and fair trade products are more expensive for consumers.

Question 23

how do ethical consumption schemes combat issues raised by globalisation?

Answer 23

founded in Germany (1993), the NGO FSC (forest stewardship council) uses its FSC logo on wood products that are sorted from sustainable forests, thus helping consumers ensure that products are not contributing to environmental degradation.
it’s criteria includes that forestry must respect the land rights of indigenous people and that forestry workers are well treated and paid.
FCS has become well known globally but has been criticised for being too brand-focused.

Question 24

how does recycling combat issued raised by globalisation?

Answer 24

local councils in the UK play a key role in reducing waste and ecological footprints through recycling and councils waste collection services.
recycling of households waste increase from 17% to 44% between 2003 and 2013 but this was still some way behind the 65% achieved in Germany.
recycling does reduce waste, but different councils have different schemes with different results and reducing packaging may be a better way to forward to movement towards an environmental sound system.