Economic Globalisation

Foreign exchange is very important in a globalised economy.

Many companies have also benefitted from the trade principles which are used in the world today. In fact, some companies are so large that their annual turnover is bigger than the GDP of most countries. This has resulted in some very interesting questions: is this really an appropriate direction for the world? Should we really allow the shareholders of one company to own more wealth than all of the people in most of the developing world?

At this stage it would seem that this is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. We can all recite a long list of companies that have “gone global”; McDonalds, Nestle, Microsoft, PriceWaterhouse Coopers and Kraft are all companies that have offices in many different countries, and which derive profits from people all over the world.

But how did this happen? And why is it that there are people all over the world who are willing to stand up and protest any time that someone mentions the word “globalisation”? Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? And by what criteria should it be judged?

These are all important questions, and during your study of this topic you will form your own opinion about all of them. In the end, the most important goal for you to achieve as you study this topic is to be able to justify your opinion with sound economic arguments. As this is one of the most divisive issues facing the world today, you should consider this time well spent.