Unit 4- human and physical influences on global interactions Flashcards
Multi-government organisations
Multi-government organisations operate across number of different states - some are international as the world bank, the imf and the uN whereas others are regional like North American Free Trade Agreement. Most MGO’s focus on economic matters in an attempt to increase trade and interactions, although there is increasing nationalism and calls for protectionism in many countries.
Trading Blocks
a trading block is an arrangement between countries to allow free trade between member countries but to impose tarrifs on external countries that wish to trade with them
- Free trade areas = where members abolish tarifs and quotas on trade between member nations but restrict important from non-member countries
- Custom Unions = closer form of economic cooperation such as Mercosur within South Africa - as well as having free trade between members, all members operate a common external tarrif on imports from abroad
- Common Markets = customs union which in addition to the free trade in goods and services allow free movement of people and capital
Economic unions = not only allow free trade and movement of people and capital but also require members to have common policies on such sectors as agriculture, industry and regional development for example, The European Union
Export processing zones and free trade zones
export processing zones - areas that offer incentives to foreign companies to develop export- orientated industries
Free trade zones = areas where goods can be stored, manufactured and re-exported without customs duties (taxes)
both are important parts to the so.called new international division of labour
by the 20th century more than than 90 countries had established EPZ’s and FTZ’s as part of their economic strategies
Popularity due to three factors that link the economies of LIC HIC and NIC
- problems of indeptness and foreign exchange shortages in LIC’s since the 1980’s
- economic incentives that encourage open economies foreign investment and non traditional exports
- search for TNC’s for cost saving locations, particularly in terms of wage cost, to shift manufacturing, assmebly and component production from locations in HIC’s to LIC’s
Control and Rules on economic migration
4 main trends in economic migration :
- migration becoming more global and the diversity of areas of origin is increasing
- migration is accelerating - number of migrants is growing in all major regions
- migration is becoming more diversified
- Migration is increasing among women, who are playing a much fuller part in their own right
There are new challenges for governments to provide for migrants and refugees but their is also increased hostility in receiving countries - increased globalisation and the growing diversity make it harder for governments to restrict migration although many countries have tried
Migration is important for the growth of an economy - in the USA = economic prosperity is associated with the country’s ability to attract labour - migrants needed to increase the size of the working population
Case Study : Migration control in the USA
illegal immigration to the USA refers to foreign nationals voluntarily residing in a country in violation of the US immigration and nationality laws - illegal immigration has severe penalties including fines, imprisonment or deportation
believed to be around 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA entering the country in two ways
1) most enter illegally by evading immigration inspectors and border patrol
2) other enter legally but overstay their visa
visa overstayers = more educated and tend to be somewhat more educated and better off financially than those who cross the border illegally
Each year - estimated 200,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants to USA from Mexico
As many as 50,000 people are illicitly trafficked into the US annually - trafficking in women plagues the USA as much as it does underdeveloped nations
Case Study : European Migration the UK
study on the economic impact of European migrants to the UK concluded that they pay far in taxes than they receive in state benefits - Britain successful at attracted highly skilled and educated migrants in Europe - Over 60% of new migrants from western and southern europe were uni grads
The “shrinking world” : data flow patterns and trends
The world is more interconnected than ever before - while the physical flows of goods and services characterised the 20th century, the flows of data and information characterise the 21st century. Digitalisation = changes globalisation in many ways - driving down the costs of cross-border communications and transactions and allowing businesses to connect with each-other and customers
HIC’s are the most globally connected countries but LICs are closing the gap slowly - digital age poses some issues = pricing pressures, security = social media = good communication but more pressure on users and also means for spread of extremism
When trade was dominated by physical goods - largely confined to TNC’s and LICs, however now global data flows are accelerating more countries and smaller enterprises are increasingly able to compete on the global market
The surge in cross-border data flows connecting countries
about one eighth of global goods trade is carried out by e-commerce and half the trade are already digitalised - digitalisation allows for the instantaneous exchange of virtual goods such as e books and apps. Digital platforms allow companies to reach beyond constraints of small local market and reach global audience
Nevertheless - global flows concentrated among a comparatively small number of users - USA,UK and Signapore are at the center of the world digital networks
Transport developments over time
the frictional effect of distance of distance delay suggests that areas that are close together are usually more likely to interact with one another, whereas areas far apart are less likely to interact with one another - however there has been reduction in effect of distance as improvements in transport = further distance in less time and also brings places together
Time space convergence
important for development of TNC’s and international trade - technologies are needed that overcome affect of distance and time
Neither of these technologies caused the development but allow developments to occur - information communication technologies are key as one of the most important technologies to enhance global communications is satellite technology - has made remarkable levels of global communication and transmission of data
Additionally, Optical cable fires - huge carrying capacity and transmit information at high speed and with high signal strength
only very large organisations have resources to utilise these
Containers
containers = backbone of modern global economy - about 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is transported in containers stacked on articulated lorries, trains and fright ships - geography and topography limits the size of ships = eg size is restricted by depth of the Straits of Malacca linking the indian ocean to the Pacific ocean - limits a ship to 470 m long and 60 meters wide
Panama Canal = being expanded to allow ships up to 12,000 TEU to pass
Jet engine
long-distance transport = safer easier and better suited - longer faster travel and bigger payloads
Patterns and trends in communications
every year ICT technology brings faster processing speeds, greater storage capacity and more software
by 2050 = will be 3 billion new users of the mobile phone and half of the growth predicted to be in NIC’s and LIC’s
biggest rise with be in smartphones - since 2005 sales of mobile handsets have increased by 20% per year in Africa and 15% in Asia - enables access to the internet and financial services
Mobile phones can improve access to health care eg in Bangladesh where 90% of births occur outside of hospitals
Not everyone has access - many poor people left without as well as elderly, disabled and no service areas
influence of the physical environment on global interactions : Natural resource availability
availability of natural resources is a significant factor in world trade - for example in the Middle East countries dominate export of oil - countries with these natural resources also have chance to trade
Resource availability in South Africa
South Africa, Australia and Canada are rich in resources and continue to exploit them - many HIC’s have developed due to their export of raw materials- LIC’s and MIC such as Brazil and South Africa are trying to follow similar path - using wealth to diversify a more broad based economy. Countries with a single resource product eg ghana with cocoa and zambia with copper = more vunerable to climate extremes, demand, competition, disease and currency fluctuations as they have fewer alternatives
