This excellent new book contains contributions from a number of leading experts and is the result of the UNU/WIDER project on globalization and low-income countries. The discussion focuses in on how to harness globalization for the benefit of present day marginalized countries and enhance their meaningful participation in the globalization process.
Globalization is defined in economic terms to mean freer flows of trade, foreign direct investment and finance, and liberalization of trade and investment policies. Impacts of globalization and information technology are examined in terms of growth and productivity, poverty and income distribution, and employment. Experiences of Africa, East and Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America in the era of globalization are discussed. It is argued that benefits of freer trade and capital flows need to be managed carefully in order to minimise the costs and maximise gains.
Over the past two decades, the percentage of the world’s population living on less than a dollar a day has been cut in half. How much of that improvement is because of—or in spite of—globalization? While anti-globalization activists mount loud critiques and the media report breathlessly on globalization’s perils and promises, economists have largely remained silent, in part because of an entrenched institutional divide between those who study poverty and those who study trade and finance. Globalization and Poverty bridges that gap, bringing together experts on both international trade and poverty to provide a detailed view of the effects of globalization on the poor in developing nations, answering such questions as: Do lower import tariffs improve the lives of the poor? Has increased financial integration led to more or less poverty? How have the poor fared during various currency crises? Does food aid hurt or help the poor? Poverty, the contributors show here, has been used as a popular and convenient catchphrase by parties on both sides of the globalization debate to further their respective arguments. Globalization and Poverty provides the more nuanced understanding necessary to move that debate beyond the slogans.
This book looks at the global importance of mountain systems, emphasizing their ecological and socio-economic role in light of climate change and globalization. With a special focus on the Himalayas, it also examines the Czech–German–Austrian mountain borderland, the Alps, the Andes, the highland regions of Malaysia, and the Arctic. The contributors, specialists in their fields, all use an integrative approach that develops and argues the concept of mountain regions as a global common good. Readers also discover that mountain systems and mountain communities are often marginalized and left behind by the process of globalization. Case studies throughout detail the effects of climate change and global warming on both nature and local/regional societies, such as declining water supplies, a shifting vegetation line, and other important issues facing not only mountains but also the vast regions depending on them. In addition, the comprehensive coverage offers authenticated viewpoints from some of the most eminent explorers of Tibet in the nineteenth century. More than 50 percent of the global human population draws benefits directly or indirectly from mountain resources and services. This book provides practitioners, researchers, students, and other interested readers with a compelling look at the global importance of this imposing, yet sensitive ecosystem.
This book provides an overview of marginality or marginalization, as a concept, characterizing a situation of impediments – social, political, economic, physical, and environmental – that impact the abilities of many people and societies to improve their human condition. It examines a wide range of examples and viewpoints of societies struggling with poverty, social inequality and marginalization. Though the book will be especially interesting for those looking for insights into the situation and position of ethnic groups living in harsh mountainous conditions in the Himalayan region, examples from other parts of the world such as Kyrgyzstan, Israel, Switzerland and Finland provide an opportunity for comparison of marginality and marginalization from around the world. Also addressed are issues such as livelihood, outmigration and environmental threats, taking into account the conditions, scale and perspective of observation. Throughout the text, particular attention is given to the context and concept of ‘marginalization’, which sadly remains a persistent reality of human life. It is in this context that this book seeks to advance our global understanding of what marginalization is, how it is manifested and what causes it, while also proposing remedial strategies.
Globalization - the growing integration of economies and societies around the world, is a complex process. The focus of this research is the impact of economic integration on developing countries and especially the poor people living in these countries. Whether economic integration supports poverty reduction and how it can do so more effectively are key questions asked. The research yields 3 main findings with bearings on current policy debates about globalization. Firstly, poor countries with some 3 billion people have broken into the global market for manufactures and services, and this successful integration has generally supported poverty reduction. Secondly, inclusion both across countries and within them is important as a number of countries (pop. 2 billion) are failing as states, trading less and less, and becoming marginal to the world economy. Thirdly, standardization or homogenization is a concern - will economic integration lead to cultural or institutional homogenization?
This excellent new book contains contributions from a number of leading experts and is the result of the UNU/WIDER project on globalization and low-income countries. The discussion focuses in on how to harness globalization for the benefit of present day marginalized countries and enhance their meaningful participation in the globalization process. Vital reading for students and academics interested in development economics, this collection will also prove an invaluable tool for policy-makers.
This powerful, unsettling book gives us a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of global financial institutions by the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics. When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition.
This book looks at marginality from a less conventional perspective by analyzing complex social, cultural, political and economic relations between the aspects of globalization and various forms of marginalization. It focuses specifically on the conflict potential that results from the globalization-driven inequality and marginalization of many segments of societies. This view is further illustrated in sections on border regions, identity issues, minorities and poverty. The book gives a comprehensive but in-depth analysis of the various aspects of the relations between globalization, marginalization and conflict issues, based on a number of case studies and regions worldwide. It shows how the same issues of globalization and marginalization manifest themselves in different ways under different circumstance, obviously requiring different solutions. Based on original research, this book provides new insights on the globalization-marginalization relations and a good resource to academics, scientists and students in various fields of social, political science and humanities.
Children at risk of marginalization in education are found in all societies. At first glance, The lives of these children may appear poles apart. The daily experiences of slum dwellers in Kenya, ethnic minority children in Viet Nam and a Roma child in Hungary are very different. What they have in common are missed opportunities to develop their potential, realize their hopes and build a better future through education.A decade has passed since world leaders adopted the Education for All goals. While progress has been made, millions of children are still missing out on their right to education. Reaching the marginalized identifies some of the root causes of disadvantage, both within education and beyond, and provides examples of targeted policies and practices that successfully combat exclusion. Set against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, The Report calls for a renewed financing commitment by aid donors and recipient governments alike to meet the Education for All goals by 2015.This is the eighth edition of the annual EFA Global Monitoring Report. The Report includes statistical indicators on all levels of education in more than 200 countries and territories.
