Globalization

Globalization and the Geography of Networks

Definition

• A set of processes that:– increase interactions– deepen relationships– heighten interdependence without regard to country

borders.

• Does NOT include the free movement of people.• A set of outcomes that are felt from these global

processes.– Unevenly distributed and manifested throughout.

Background Info.

• “It’s neither an inevitable nor an irreversible set of processes.” De Blij and Murphy

• Understanding the origin and continued growth is very hard to do.– There is no set pattern to its spread/effects.

Background Info. Cont…

• The backbone of globalization is TRADE.– Opened the doors for the dispersion of the

following, though it does not dictate it or govern the dispersion exclusively:

• Cultural traits• Ideas• Pop culture elements• Capital

FREE TRADE

• Definition– Goods and services trade without interference

of government imposed costs.

Free Trade Encompasses:• International trade of

goods without tariffs (taxes on imports) or other trade barriers (e.g., quotas on imports)

• International trade in services without tariffs or other trade barriers

• The free movement of labor between countries

• The free movement of capital between countries

• The absence of trade-distorting policies (such as taxes, subsidies, regulations or laws) that give domestic firms, households or factors of production an advantage over foreign ones

• Trade-distorting policies to enforce property rights so as to ensure the above conditions

Free Trade cont…

– “Free trade raises the well-being of all countries by inducing them to specialize their resources in those goods they produce relatively most efficiently in order to lower costs.” -De Blij and Murphy

• As a result, a nation’s growth rate and access to technology is increased.

– This is known as the Washington Consensus

Timeline of Growth

• Stage One (G.1): (1492-1776)- The Age of Exploration– Retrogression Period: (1776-1815) due to the Atlantic

Wars

• Stage Two (G.2): (1815-1947)- The Age of Industrialization– Retrogression Period: WWI, Great Depression, and

WWII

• Stage Three (G.3): (1947- Present)- Post WWII: From Containment to the Free Market Competition

Anti-Globalization(Global Justice Movement)

• A social movement established to combat the effects of globalization.

• Believes that Core Periphery nations are destroying semi-periphery and periphery national economies to gain greater wealth.– Forcing them into foreign direct investment

and removing protections on domestic production.

– Target: WTO, W.Bank, and Int’l Monetary Fund.

Anti-Globalization cont…

• Rely heavily on protests and demonstrations to spread messages.

• “Free trade is not ‘free’ rather, it builds up a global economic network that sends most benefits to the core.” -De Blij and Murphy

Role of Networks

• A set of interconnected nodes without a center.– Types:

• Financial• Transportation• Trade• Government/Non-Government• Education• Media• ETC…

How Do Networks Work?

• They link everything that the dominant interests view as valuable and discard what is not valuable.– Networks have really flourished the in recent

years due to technology.

• Some places more connected than others, thus there is a spatial unevenness of globalization and its outcomes.

Networks cont…

• Ideally, networks should be horizontally structured, have no center, and encourage interaction amongst nodes.

Specific Types of Networks

• Development– Networks set up by various organizations to

counter top down decision making by higher up powers

– Examples of Efforts• Promote Participatory Development

– Locals participate in development decisions.

• Local Exchange Trading System– People barter and trade services/goods for things

needed. (I.E., Vancouver Island and Berkeley)

Specific Types of Networks

• Media Networks– Main way popular culture elements are diffused. (I.E.,

Music, McDonald’s, Apple vs. IBM)

• Corporate Networks– Vertical Integration vs. Horizontal Integration

• VI: Corp that has ownership in a variety of points along the production and consumption of a commodity chain. (Time Warner)

• HI: When the consumer spends, the money is going towards the same parent co. (Macy’s)

– Global retail can be very damaging to small, locally owned businesses.

Networks: The Effects of Time-Space Compression

• Definition– Establishes that certain places are more

interconnected than ever through communication and transportation networks. (I.E., Global cities in core periphery)

– Periphery nations are farther removed than ever.

• TSC is hugely impacted by Technology.

– How does technology create such a great divide between the periphery and the core?

Effects of TSC on Global Cities

• Allows an individual to see the network of interactions that these cities maintain in terms of globalized processes.– Finances– Media– Air Travel– Technology

TSC on Global Cities cont…

• Most globalized cities1. London

2. New York

3. Tokyo

The Globalization of McDonald’s