Globalization: Definition, Benefits,

Effects, Examples – What is

Globalization?
Last modified on 6thOctober 2020
Globalization – what is it? What is the definition of globalization? Benefits and
negative effects? What are the top examples of globalization? What famous quotes
have been said about globalization?
What is Globalization? All Definitions of Globalization
A Simple Globalization Definition
Globalization means the speedup of movements and exchanges (of human beings, goods,
and services, capital, technologies or cultural practices) all over the planet. One of the
effects of globalization is that it promotes and increases interactions between different
regions and populations around the globe.

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An Official Definition of Globalization by the World Health Organization

(WHO)
According to WHO, globalization can be defined as ” the increased interconnectedness
and interdependence of peoples and countries. It is generally understood to include two
inter-related elements: the opening of international borders to increasingly fast flows of
goods, services, finance, people and ideas; and the changes in institutions and policies at
national and international levels that facilitate or promote such flows.”
What Is Globalization in the Economy?
According to the Committee for Development Policy (a subsidiary body of the United
Nations), from an economic point of view, globalization can be defined as:
“(…) the increasing interdependence of world economies as a result of the growing scale
of cross-border trade of commodities and services, the flow of international capital and
the wide and rapid spread of technologies. It reflects the continuing expansion and mutual
integration of market frontiers (…) and the rapid growing significance of information in
all types of productive activities and marketization are the two major driving forces for
economic globalization.”

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What Is Globalization in Geography?

In geography, globalization is defined as the set of processes (economic, social, cultural,
technological, institutional) that contribute to the relationship between societies and
individuals around the world. It is a progressive process by which exchanges and flows
between different parts of the world are intensified.
Globalization and the G20: What is the G20?
The G20 is a global bloc composed by the governments and central bank governors from
19 countries and the European Union (EU). Established in 1999, the G20 gathers the
most important industrialized and developing economies to discuss international
economic and financial stability. Together, the nations of the G20 account for around
80% of global economic output, nearly 75 percent of all global trade, and about two-
thirds of the world’s population.

G20 leaders get together in an annual summit to discuss and coordinate pressing global
issues of mutual interest. Though economics and trade are usually the centerpieces of
each summit’s agenda, issues like climate change, migration policies, terrorism, the
future of work, or global wealth are recurring focuses too. Since the G20 leaders
represent the “political backbone of the global financial architecture that secures open
markets, orderly capital flows, and a safety net for countries in difficulty”, it is often
thanks to bilateral meetings during summits that major international agreements are
achieved and that globalization is able to move forward.
The joint action of G20 leaders has unquestionably been useful to save the global
financial system in the 2008/2009 crisis, thanks to trade barriers removal and the
implementation of huge financial reforms. Nonetheless, the G20 was been struggling to
be successful at coordinating monetary and fiscal policies and unable to root out tax
evasion and corruption, among other downsides of globalization. As a result of this and
other failures from the G20 in coordinating globalization, popular, nationalist movements
across the world have been defending countries should pursue their interests alone or
form fruitful coalitions.
How Do We Make Globalization More Just?
The ability of countries to rise above narrow self-interest has brought unprecedented
economic wealth and plenty of applicable scientific progress. However, for different
reasons, not everyone has been benefiting the same from globalization and technological
change: wealth is unfairly distributed and economic growth came at huge environmental
costs. How can countries rise above narrow self-interest and act together or designing
fairer societies and a healthier planet? How do we make globalization more just?
According to Christine Lagarde, former President of the International Monetary Fund,
“debates about trade and access to foreign goods are as old as society itself ” and history
tells us that closing borders or protectionism policies are not the way to go, as many
countries doing it have failed.
Lagarde defends we should pursue globalization policies that extend the benefits of
openness and integration while alleviating their side effects. How to make globalization
more just is a very complex question that involves redesigning economic systems. But
how? That’s the question.
Globalization is deeply connected with economic systems and markets, which, on their
turn, impact and are impacted by social issues, cultural factors that are hard to overcome,
regional specificities, timings of action and collaborative networks. All of this requires,
on one hand, global consensus and cooperation, and on the other, country-specific
solutions, apart from a good definition of the adjective “just”.
When Did Globalization Begin? The History of
Globalization

For some people, this global phenomenon is inherent to human nature. Because of this,
some say globalization begun about 60,000 years ago, at the beginning of human history.
Throughout time, human societies’ exchanging trade has been growing. Since the old
times, different civilizations have developed commercial trade routes and experienced
cultural exchanges. And as well, the migratory phenomenon has also been contributing to
these populational exchanges. Especially nowadays, since traveling became quicker,
more comfortable, and more affordable.
This phenomenon has continued throughout history, notably through military conquests
and exploration expeditions. But it wasn’t until technological advances in transportation
and communication that globalization speeded up. It was particularly after the second
half of the 20th century that world trades accelerated in such a dimension and speed that
the term “globalization” started to be commonly used.

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Examples of Globalization (Concept Map)

Because of trade developments and financial exchanges, we often think of globalization
as an economic and financial phenomenon. Nonetheless, it includes a much wider field
than just flowing of goods, services or capital. Often referred to as the globalization
concept map, some examples of globalization are:
  Economic globalization: is the development of trade systems within
transnational actors such as corporations or NGOs;
 Financial globalization: can be linked with the rise of a global financial system
with international financial exchanges and monetary exchanges. Stock markets,
for instance, are a great example of the financially connected global world since
when one stock market has a decline, it affects other markets negatively as well as
the economy as a whole.
 Cultural globalization: refers to the interpenetration of cultures which, as a
consequence, means nations adopt principles, beliefs, and costumes of other
nations, losing their unique culture to a unique, globalized supra-culture;
 Political globalization: the development and growing influence of international
organizations such as the UN or WHO means governmental action takes place at
an international level. There are other bodies operating a global level such as
NGOs like Doctors without borders or  Oxfam;
 Sociological globalization: information moves almost in real-time, together with
the interconnection and interdependence of events and their consequences. People
move all the time too, mixing and integrating different societies;
 Technological globalization: the phenomenon by which millions of people are
interconnected thanks to the power of the digital world via platforms such as
Facebook, Instagram, Skype or Youtube.
 Geographic globalization: is the new organization and hierarchy of different
regions of the world that is constantly changing. Moreover, with transportation
and flying made so easy and affordable, apart from a few countries with
demanding visas, it is possible to travel the world without barely any restrictions;
 Ecological globalization: accounts for the idea of considering planet Earth as a
single global entity – a common good all societies should protect since the
weather affects everyone and we are all protected by the same atmosphere. To this
regard, it is often said that the poorest countries that have been polluting the
least will suffer the most from climate change.

The Benefits of Globalization

Globalization has benefits that cover many different areas. It reciprocally developed
economies all over the world and increased cultural exchanges. It also allowed financial
exchanges between companies, changing the paradigm of work. Many people are
nowadays citizens of the world. The origin of goods became secondary and geographic
distance is no longer a barrier for many services to happen. Let’s dig deeper.
The Engine of Globalization – An Economic Example
The most visible impacts of globalization are definitely the ones affecting the economic
world. Globalization has led to a sharp increase in trade and economic exchanges, but
also to a multiplication of financial exchanges.
In the 1970s world economies opened up and the development of free trade policies
accelerated the globalization phenomenon. Between 1950 and 2010, world exports
increased 33-fold. This significantly contributed to increasing the interactions between
different regions of the world.
This acceleration of economic exchanges has led to strong global economic growth. It
fostered as well a rapid global industrial development that allowed the rapid development
of many of the technologies and commodities we have available nowadays.
Knowledge became easily shared and international cooperation among the brightest
minds speeded things up. According to some analysts, globalization has also contributed
to improving global economic conditions, creating much economic wealth (thas was,
nevertheless, unequally distributed – more information ahead).
Globalization Benefits – A Financial Example
At the same time, finance also became globalized. From the 1980s, driven by neo-liberal
policies, the world of finance gradually opened. Many states, particularly the US under
Ronald Reagan and the UK under Margaret Thatcher introduced the famous “3D Policy”:
Disintermediation, Decommissioning, Deregulation.
The idea was to simplify finance regulations, eliminate mediators and break down the
barriers between the world’s financial centers. And the goal was to make it easier to
exchange capital between the world’s financial players. This financial globalization has
contributed to the rise of a global financial market in which contracts and capital
exchanges have multiplied.
Globalization – A Cultural Example

Together with economic and financial globalization, there has obviously also been
cultural globalization. Indeed, the multiplication of economic and financial exchanges has
been followed by an increase in human exchanges such as migration, expatriation or
traveling. These human exchanges have contributed to the development of cultural
exchanges. This means that different customs and habits shared among local communities
have been shared among communities that (used to) have different procedures and even
different beliefs.
Good examples of cultural globalization are, for instance, the trading of commodities
such as coffee or avocados. Coffee is said to be originally from Ethiopia and consumed in
the Arabid region. Nonetheless, due to commercial trades after the 11th century, it is
nowadays known as a globally consumed commodity. Avocados, for instance, grown
mostly under the tropical temperatures of Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Peru. They
started by being produced in small quantities to supply the local populations but today
guacamole or avocado toasts are common in meals all over the world.
At the same time, books, movies, and music are now instantaneously available all around
the world thanks to the development of the digital world and the power of the internet.
These are perhaps the greatest contributors to the speed at which cultural exchanges and
globalization are happening. There are also other examples of globalization regarding
traditions like Black Friday in the US, the Brazilian Carnival or the Indian Holi Festival.
They all were originally created following their countries’ local traditions and beliefs but
as the world got to know them, they are now common traditions in other countries too.
Why Is Globalization Bad? The Negative Effects of
Globalization
Globalization is a complex phenomenon. As such, it has a considerable influence on
several areas of contemporary societies. Let’s take a look at some of the main negative
effects globalization has had so far.
The Negative Effects of Globalization on Cultural Loss
Apart from all the benefits globalization has had on allowing cultural exchanges it also
homogenized the world’s cultures. That’s why specific cultural characteristics from some
countries are disappearing. From languages to traditions or even specific industries.
That’s why according to UNESCO, the mix between the benefits of globalization and the
protection of local culture’s uniqueness requires a careful approach.
The Economic Negative Effects of Globalization
Despite its benefits, the economic growth driven by globalization has not been done
without awakening criticism. The consequences of globalization are far from
homogeneous: income inequalities, disproportional wealth and trades that benefit parties
differently. In the end, one of the criticisms is that some actors (countries, companies,
individuals) benefit more from the phenomena of globalization, while others are
sometimes perceived as the “losers” of globalization. As a matter of fact, a recent report
from Oxfam says that 82% of the world’s generated wealth goes to 1% of the
population.

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The Negative Effects of Globalization on the Environment

Many critics have also pointed out that globalization has negative effects on the
environment. Thus, the massive development of transport that has been the basis of
globalization is also responsible for serious environmental problems such as
greenhouse gas emissions, global warming or air pollution.
At the same time, global economic growth and industrial productivity are both the driving
force and the major consequences of globalization. They also have big environmental
consequences as they contribute to the depletion of natural resources, deforestation and
the destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity. The worldwide distribution of
goods is also creating a big garbage problem, especially on what concerns plastic
pollution.

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Globalization, Sustainable Development, and CSR

Globalization affects all sectors of activity to a greater or lesser extent. By doing so, its
gap with issues that have to do with sustainable development and corporate social
responsibility is short.
By promoting large-scale industrial production and the globalized circulation of goods,
globalization is sometimes opposed to concepts such as resource savings, energy savings
or the limitation of greenhouse gases. As a result, critics of globalization often argue that
it contributes to accelerating climate change and that it does not respect the principles
of ecology. At the same time, big companies that don’t give local jobs and choose instead
to use the manpower of countries with low wages (to have lower costs) or pay taxes in
countries with more favorable regulations is also opposed to the criteria of
a CSR approach. Moreover, the ideologies of economic growth and the constant pursuit
of productivity that come along with globalization, also make it difficult to design a
sustainable economy based on resilience.
On the other hand, globalization is also needed for the transitioning to a more sustainable
world, since only a global synergy would really be able to allow a real ecological
transition. Issues such as global warming indeed require a coordinated response from all
global players: fight against CO2 emissions, reduction of waste, a transition
to renewable energies. The same goes for ocean or air pollution, or ocean acidification,
problems that can’t be solved without global action. The dissemination of green ideas
also depends on the ability of committed actors to make them heard globally.

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The Road From Globalization to Regionalization

From a globalization perspective, regionalization means a world that is less

interconnected and has a stronger regional focus.
Regionalization can also be analyzed from a corporate perspective. For instance,
businesses such as McDonald’s or Starbucks don’t sell exactly the same products
everywhere. In some specific stores, they consider people’s regional habits. That’s why
the McChicken isn’t sold in India, whereas in Portugal there’s a steak sandwich menu
like the ones you can get in a typical Portuguese restaurant.
Politically speaking, when left-wing parties are in power they tend to focus on their
country’s people, goods and services. Exchanges with the outside world aren’t seen as
very valuable and importations are often left aside.
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Globalization Quotes by World Influencers

Many world leaders, decision-makers and influential people have spoken about
globalization. Some stand out its positive benefits and others focus deeper on its negative
effects. Find below some of the most interesting quotes on this issue.
Politic Globalization Quotes
Globalization quote by the former U.S President Bill Clinton ??
No generation has had the opportunity, as we now have, to build a global economy
that leaves no-one behind. It is a wonderful opportunity, but also a profound
responsibility.
Globalization quote by Barack Obama, former U.S. president ??
Globalization is a fact, because of technology, because of an integrated global supply
chain, because of changes in transportation. And we’re not going to be able to build
a wall around that.
Globalization quote by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former International Monetary
Fund Managing Director ??
“We can’t speak day after day about globalization without at the same time having
in mind that…we need multilateral solutions.”
Globalization quote by Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada ??
“We have to remember we’re in a global economy. The purpose of fiscal stimulus is
not simply to sustain activity in our national economies but to help the global
economy as well, and that’s why it’s so critical that measures in those packages
avoid anything that smacks of protectionism.”
Globalization quote by Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia ??
“My guiding principle is that prosperity can be shared. We can create wealth
together. The global economy is not a zero-sum game.”
Other Globalization Quotes
Globalization quote by the spiritual leader Dalai Lama ??
“I find that because of modern technological evolution and our global economy, and
as a result of the great increase in population, our world has greatly changed: it has
become much smaller. However, our perceptions have not evolved at the same pace;
we continue to cling to old national demarcations and the old feelings of ‘us’ and
‘them’.”
The famous German sociologist Ulrich Beck also spoke of globalization ??
“Globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future,
but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must first open
our eyes.”
Globalization quote by Bill Gates, owner and former CEO of Microsoft ??
“The fact is that as living standards have risen around the world, world trade has
been the mechanism allowing poor countries to increasingly take care of really basic
needs, things like vaccination.”
Globalization quote by John Lennon, member of the music band The Beatles ??
Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no
religion, too. Imagine all the people. Living life in peace. You, you may say I’m a
dreamer. But I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us. And the world
will be as one
Image credits to  map on Shutterstock, environment pollution on Shutterstock, cultural
interaction on Shutterstock, economic globalization on Shutterstock, globalization on
Shutterstock  and connected world on Shutterstock