Edexcel AS Geography Unit 1 Global challenges Going global Globalisation

Edexcel AS Geography

Unit 1 Global challenges

Going globalGlobalisation

Edexcel AS Geography Unit 1

Going global: Globalisation

What is globalisation?

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) definition of globalisation is: ‘the growing

economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume

and variety of cross border transactions in goods and services, freer

international capital flows, and more rapid and widespread diffusion of

technology.’



Aspects of globalisation



Globalisation and you

• Economic: rising petrol prices, food from the ‘global village’• Technological: the latest gadgets• Political: the global ‘war on terror’, the Millennium Development Goals, events

such as ‘Live 8’• Cultural: global music, art and fashion • Demographic: new migrations of people• Environmental: global climate change, biodiversity hotspots



A ‘shrinking world’ (1)

A shrinking world: the time taken to navigate the globe



A ‘shrinking world’ (2)

• internet and satellite connections have speeded up financial flows and business

decisions• the costs of communication have fallen• containerisation has reduced shipping costs • cheap flights have brought air travel to the masses in richer nations• English has become the international language of business

Developments in communications and transport have reduced the importance

of distance and this has aided globalisation. For example:



Growth in world trade

• As transport and communications have grown, global trade has expanded

phenomenally.• The World Trade Organization has organised a succession of trade

agreements that have increased free trade.• Many countries, especially newly industrialised countries (NICs), have

benefited from this growth in trade.



Transnational corporations

• Other factors apart from transport, communications and trade developments

have accelerated globalisation.• Transnational corporations (TNCs) have grown and developed global

production and sales networks. • For example, Toyota has plants in 26 countries and sells its products in 140

countries. • Seeking low-cost production locations, TNCs have spread into NICs and these

countries have become tied into the global network.



The ‘global shift’

• The changing location of production is termed the ‘global shift’.• This began in the 1950s and 1960s as low-tech production (e.g. textiles, toys)

was moved to the ‘Asian Tiger’ NICs.• It accelerated in the 1990s when consumer electronics shifted to China and

other low-cost locations.• Recently, service jobs, call centres and software development have shifted to

India.



Balance of world trade

• Not everyone has benefited from globalisation. • The five largest exporting economies account for 37% of world trade.• The least developed countries, with a total population of around 650 million,

share only 0.6% of world trade.



International migration

• Another consequence of globalisation is increasing international migration.• Transport developments have made movement easier.• As developed world economies have grown, the ‘pull’ for people from the

developing world has increased.• Lack of development in the least developed countries has increased the ‘push’

factor.• TNCs have generated a new globe-hopping business executive elite who are

continually on the move. • Migrant flows have risen from 76 million in 1960, to 176 million in 2000, and

191 million in 2006.

Documents

Edexcel AS Geography Unit 1 Global challenges Going global Globalisation