4.2.6 The international economy Flashcards
(158 cards)
What is globalisation?
The ever increasing integration and interdependence of the different countries, increasing their reliance on each other
What are the characteristics of globalisation?
- Free trade of goods and services
- Free movement of capital and labour
- Free interchange of technology and intellectual capital
- Interdependence between countries
- FDI and more migration
What is interdependence?
Where the performance of a country depends on the performance of other countries, seen in 2008-9 when the effects of the GFC spread across the globe
What are the causes of globalisation?
- Trade in goods, as developing countries have acquired the capital and information to manufacture goods, from efficient transport and MNCs moving their production abroad
- Trade in services, such as the trade of tourism
- Trade liberalisation: growing strength and influence of organisations such as the WTO, which advocates free trade, has contributed to declining trade barriers
- MNCs spreading technological knowledge and economies of scale, resulting in lower costs of production
- International financial flows: such as flow of capital and FDI enabling countries such as China to finance their growth, facilitated by the removal of capital controls
- Improvements in IT have resulted in easier and cheaper communication, leading to the world being more interconnected as transport links and transfer of information has improved and become easier
- Containerisation, resulting in it becoming cheaper to ship goods across the world, causing prices to fall, making the market more competitive
How has containerisation contributed to globalisation?
- It means that goods are distributed in standard sized containers, so it is easier to load and cheaper to distribute using rail and sea transport, helping to meet world demand
- Cargo can be moved much faster, so economies of scale can be exploited and less labour is required
- It is mainly MNCs which have been able to exploit this, and could result in some structural unemployment
What are the benefits of globalisation on developed countries?
- Increased choice for consumers, leading to higher consumer surplus and welfare
- Decreased inflation from higher supply, increased competition and price level drops
- Export-led businesses profit off of higher demand
- Economies of scale and access to cheaper labour
- Resource mobility leading to more efficient allocation of resources and higher productivity
- Increased FDI
- Higher political stability as countries are able to maintain relations with other countries as they rely on them
What are the costs of globalisation on developed countries?
- Possible structural unemployment from occupational immobility
- Industrial sectors without a comparative advantage lose out
- Labour migration resulting in pressure on services and infrastructure
- Environmental impacts such as increased pollution
- More inequality
- Political sovereignty
What are the benefits of globalisation on developing countries (LEDCs)?
- Economic growth from easier trade and increased production, causing the rise of emerging markets, increasing choice for consumers
- Greater employment opportunities enabled by MNCs (but could be exploitative)
- Economies of scale for existing firms
- Capital inflows, meaning more FDI
What are the costs of globalisation on developing countries (LEDCs)?
- Brain drain, as skilled workers can leave the country in search of better living standards and a higher income
- Resource depletion
- Cheap labour exploitation
What are multinational corporations (MNCs)?
Organisations which own or control the production of goods and services in multiple countries
What is the role of MNCs in globalisation?
- They have used marketing to become global, and by growing, have been able to take advantage of economies of scale
- The spread of technological knowledge and economies of scale has resulted in lower costs of production
What are the advantages to the receiving country of FDI?
- Employment opportunities
- Boosted AD in the SR
- Potential LRAS boost in the LR, from more skilled labour and better infrastructure
- Increased tax revenue, from direct taxes such as corporation and income tax
What are the disadvantages to the receiving country of FDI?
- Possible exploitation of labour and local resources, as the country may over offer for the FDI, such as lower taxation
- Profits may be sent back to country where the headquarters are located
- Company may use their own workers
What are the advantages of FDI for MNCs?
- Cheaper costs of production: cheaper labour, lower taxes due to tax avoidance, ablility to avoid tariffs and quotas
- Can take advantage of weaker legislation, such as less environmental laws in the country enabling the MNC to use more resource
What are the disadvantages of FDI for MNCs?
- Exchange rate risks meaning that costs could increase
- Possible diseconomies of scale, such as communication and coordination problems
- Possible hostility from the government of the country, for reasons such as exploitation
What does the effect of FDI depend on?
The receiving country’s government’s approval
What is comparative advantage?
- The ability of a country to produce at a lower opportunity cost than another country
- They have to give up producing less of another good than another country, using the same resources
What is absolute advantage?
The ability of a country to produce at a lower unit cost than another country
What is the difference between comparative and absolute advantage?
If a country has the comparative advantage, it means that they can produce that product at a lower opportunity cost than another country, whereas if a country has the absolute advantage, it can produce the product at a lower unit cost than another country
What can countries do where they have comparative advantage?
Specialise, increasing economic welfare and total output
What are the benefits of specialisation?
- Exploitation of economies of scale, lowering costs of production
- Increasing total output as all countries specialise in what they are efficient at producing
What are the costs of international trade?
- Job losses, as countries with lower labour costs have entered the market
- Environmental damage due to increase in manufacturing
- Dependency on other countries for necessities
What are the reasons for changes in the pattern of trade between the UK and the rest of the world?
- Changing comparative advantages, as developing countries gain advantage in production of manufactured goods due to their lower labour costs, shifting production abroad and away from developed countries
- Impact of emerging economies - more countries participating in world trade since collapse of communism
- Exchange rate changes, such as China keeping their currency’s value low to make exports relatively cheap (export-led growth)
- Protectionism/ Free Trade areas: policies of developed countries have limited the ability of developing countries to export primary commodities
What are the benefits of international trade?
- Increase in total world output, leading to higher economic growth and living standards
- Access to resources/ finished goods that the country can’t produce
- More choice, meeting demand closely (solving economic problem)
- Increase in economic efficiency by establishing a competitive market, lowering costs of production and increasing output