The Political Economy of Globalization

Globalization is transforming the world at an accelerated pace. Integration of the world continues, widening and intensifying international linkages in economic, political and social relations. Liberalization of trade and fmance, lubricated by revolutionary changes in information technology, has resulted in significant economic growth at the global level. On the other hand, the process of globalization is changing the nature of production relations, threatening the traditional roles of the nation-state, and carrying with it far-reaching implications for sustainable growth, development and the environment. Although both developed and developing countries are actively participating in this saga of globalization, nearly ninety countries, as the United Nations' Human Development Report, 1996 indicates, are worse off economically than they were ten years ago, leading to "global polarization" between haves and have nots. The report further indicates that the gap between the per capita incomes of the industrialized world and the developing countries, far from narrowing, has more than tripled during the last thirty years. Further, a majority of the countries benefitting from this globalization drive have seen a rise in inequality and poverty. This failure of market driven globalization to reward the benefits equitably led the United Nations to proclaim 1996 as the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty (IYEP) and the decade of 1997-2006 as the international decade for the eradication of poverty, and to promote "people-centered sustainable development".

1. The Political Economy of Globalization: An Introduction. - Economic and Political Integration. - Uneven Development. - Policy Reform and Popular Organization. - A Brief Review of the Chapters. - Concluding Remarks. - I. Globalization and National Sovereignty. - 2. Globalization: The Game, the Players and the Rules. - 3. Globalization: The Epochal Imperatives and Developmental Tendencies. - 4. The Limits of Globalization: An Assessment of the Extent and Consequences of the Mobility of Productive Capital. - II. Industrialized Nations of the North. - 5. The Globalization of Trade: What s Changed and Why? . - 6. Limits of Convergence and Globalization. - 7. Does Trade with the South Disadvantage Unskilled Workers in the North? . - 8. The Influence of International Trade on Union Firm Hiring and Worker Union Choice. - III. Developing Nations of the South. - 9. Uruguay Round Reforms and the Developing World. - 10. Structural Adjustment and Civil Society in Contemporary Africa. - 11. Women Workers in the Global Factory: Impact of Gender Power Asymmetries. - IV. Promoting Growth with Equity. - 12. Technological Change and International Economic Institutions. - 13. Debt Management and Structural Adjustment: Neglected Issues. - 14. NAFTA and Labor: A Global Strategy for the Global Economy. - 15. Globalization and Development: Facing the Challenges. - Contributors.