One argument in the debate surrounding globalization is about the inequality between developed and developing nations. Explain how reduced barriers to trade and investment might help reduce this inequality.
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Answer:
Globalisation is a process through which countries, businesses and people become more inter-connected and inter-dependent via an increase in trade in goods and services, cross-border investment and labour migration from one nation to another. Income and wealth inequality can be measured in various ways including the Gini coefficient and the Palma Ratio. The latter is a good indicator of the depth of inequality since it tracks incomes flowing to the top ten percent of households and divides by the incomes for the bottom forty percent. In South Africa, that figure is 7.1 whereas for Germany the Palma Ratio is just over 3.
Point 1
One way globalisation can increase inequality is through the effects of increasing specialisation and trade. A rise in trade-to-GDP ratios signifies an increase in the volume and value of trade between countries and regions. Although trade based on comparative advantage has the potential to stimulate economic growth and lift per capita incomes, it can also lead to a rise in relative poverty. For example, if a country can now import cheaper steel from elsewhere, then there will be a contraction in domestic supply and a fall in employment and real incomes in that industry. This can lead to higher rates of structural unemployment and a decline in real living standards. Real wages come under downward pressure and inequality can increase. We see this in regions of the UK for example where de-industrialisation has taken place leading to much higher rates of long-term unemployment and a worsening of economic and social deprivation. In the United States, the share of national income claimed by the top 1% of the population climbed from 11% in 1980 to 20% in 2014, compared to just 13% for the entire bottom half of the population.