Showing papers on "Globalization published in 2009"

Trade, transport and trouble: managing invasive species pathways in an era of globalization

Abstract: Summary 1 Humans have traded and transported alien species for millennia with two notable step-changes: the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However, in recent decades the world has entered a new phase in the magnitude and diversity of biological invasions: the Era of Globalization. This Special Profile reviews the links between the main drivers of globalization and biological invasions and examines state-of-the-art approaches to pathway risk assessment to illustrate new opportunities for managing invasive species. 2 Income growth is a primary driver of globalization and a clear association exists between Gross Domestic Product and the richness of alien floras and faunas for many regions of the world. In many cases, the exposure of these economies to trade is highlighted by the significant role of merchandise imports in biological invasions, especially for island ecosystems. 3 Post-1950, technical and logistic improvements have accelerated the ease with which commodities are transported across the globe and hindered the traceability of goods and the ease of intercepting pests. New sea, land and air links in international trade and human transport have established novel pathways for the spread of alien species. Increasingly, the science advances underpinning invasive species management must move at the speed of commerce. 4 Increasing transport networks and demand for commodities have led to pathway risk assessments becoming the frontline in the prevention of biological invasions. The diverse routes of introduction arising from contaminant, stowaway, corridor and unaided pathways, in both aquatic and terrestrial biomes are complex. Nevertheless, common features enable comparable approaches to risk assessment. By bringing together spatial data on climate suitability, habitat availability and points of entry, as well a demographic models that include species dispersal (both natural and human-mediated) and measures of propagule pressure, it is possible to generate risk maps highlighting potential invasion hotspots that can inform prevention strategies. 5 Synthesis and applications. To date, most attempts to model pathways have focused on describing the likelihood of invader establishment. Few have modelled explicit management strategies such as optimal detection and inspection strategies and assessments of the effectiveness of different management measures. A future focus in these areas will ensure research informs response.

EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE Trade, transport and trouble: managing invasive species pathways in an era of globalization

Abstract: Summary 1. Humans have traded and transported alien species for millennia with two notable step-changes: the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However, in recent decades the world has entered a new phase in the magnitude and diversity of biological invasions: the Era of Globalization. This Special Profile reviews the links between the main drivers of globalization and biological invasions and examines state-of-the-art approaches to pathway risk assessment to illustrate new opportunities for managing invasive species. 2. Income growth is a primary driver of globalization and a clear association exists between Gross Domestic Product and the richness of alien floras and faunas for many regions of the world. In many cases, the exposure of these economies to trade is highlighted by the significant role of merchandise imports in biological invasions, especially for island ecosystems. 3. Post-1950, technical and logistic improvements have accelerated the ease with which commodities are transported across the globe and hindered the traceability of goods and the ease of intercepting pests. New sea, land and air links in international trade and human transport have established novel pathways for the spread of alien species. Increasingly, the science advances underpinning invasive species management must move at the speed of commerce. 4. Increasing transport networks and demand for commodities have led to pathway risk assessments becoming the frontline in the prevention of biological invasions. The diverse routes of

Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution: A Report Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education

Abstract: This report examines the changes that have taken place since the 1998 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, in particular the main engines of change and their impact on higher education. This trend report is intended to provide background analysis and to animate discussion at the 2009 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education. It examines the central issues and the contextual factors that have shaped higher education in the past decade, and presents prospects for the immediate future. Much of this report is concerned with the ways in which higher education has responded to the challenge of massification. Other issues examined include globalisation; inequalities in access; increasing student mobility; teaching, learning and curricula; quality assurance, accountability and qualifications frameworks; financing and the public good-private good debate; the growth of private higher education; the academic profession; the research environment; information and communications technology; and the impact of demographics and the economic crisis on the development and reform of higher education in the immediate future.

Globalizing Education Policy

Abstract: Rizvi and Lingard's account of the global politics of education is thoughtful, complex and compelling It is the first really comprehensive discussion and analysis of global trends in education policy, their effects - structural and individual - and resistance to them In the enormous body of writing on globalisation this book stands out and will become a basic text in education policy courses around the world - Stephen J Ball, Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education, Institute of Education, University of London, UK, In what ways have the processes of globalization reshaped the educational policy terrain?, How might we analyse education policies located within this new terrain, which is at once local, national, regional and global? In Globalizing Education Policy, the authors explore the key global drivers of policy change in education, and suggest that these do not operate in the same way in all nation-states They examine the transformative effects of globalization on the discursive terrain within which educational policies are developed and enacted, arguing that this terrain is increasingly informed by a range of neo-liberal precepts which have fundamentally changed the ways in which we think about educational governance They also suggest that whilst in some countries these precepts are resisted, to some extent, they have nonetheless become hegemonic, and provide an overview of some critical issues in educational policy to which this hegemonic view of globalization has given rise, including: devolution and decentralization new forms of governance the balance between public and private funding of education access and equity and the education of girls curriculum particularly with respect to the teaching of English language and technology pedagogies and high stakes testing and the global trade in education These issues are explored within the context of major shifts in global processes and ideological discourses currently being experienced, and negotiated by all countries The book also provides an approach to education policy analysis in an age of globalization and will be of interest to those studying globalization and education policy across the social sciences

Financial Globalization: A Reappraisal

Abstract: The literature on the benefits and costs of financial globalization for developing countries has exploded in recent years, but along many disparate channels with a variety of apparently conflicting results. There is still little robust evidence of the growth benefits of broad capital account liberalization, but a number of recent papers in the finance literature report that equity market liberalizations do significantly boost growth. Similarly, evidence based on microeconomic (firm- or industry-level) data shows some benefits of financial integration and the distortionary effects of capital controls, but the macroeconomic evidence remains inconclusive. At the same time, some studies argue that financial globalization enhances macroeconomic stability in developing countries, but others argue the opposite. This paper attempts to provide a unified conceptual framework for organizing this vast and growing literature, particularly emphasizing recent approaches to measuring the catalytic and indirect benefits to financial globalization. Indeed, it argues that the indirect effects of financial globalization on financial sector development, institutions, governance, and macroeconomic stability are likely to be far more important than any direct impact via capital accumulation or portfolio diversification. This perspective explains the failure of research based on cross-country growth regressions to find the expected positive effects of financial globalization and points to newer approaches that are potentially more useful and convincing.

Ethical and scientific implications of the globalization of clinical research

Abstract: In recent years, the number of clinical trials conducted in the United States has declined, and the majority of study sites are now outside the United States, with marked growth of research in developing countries. The authors discuss the implications of the globalization of clinical research and make recommendations about how to address the challenges that have emerged.

Reframing justice in a globalizing world

Abstract: Globalization is changing the way we argue about justice. Not so long ago, in the heyday of social democracy, disputes about justice presumed what I shall call a “Keynesian-Westphalian frame.” Typically played out within modern territorial states, arguments about justice were assumed to concern relations among fellow citizens, to be subject to debate within national publics, and to contemplate redress by national states. This was true for each of two major families of justice claims – claims for socioeconomic redistribution and claims for legal or cultural recognition. At a time when the Bretton Woods system of international capital controls facilitated Keynesian economic steering at the national level, claims for redistribution usually focused on economic inequities within territorial states. Appealing to national public opinion for a fair share of the national pie, claimants sought intervention by national states in national economies. Likewise, in an era still gripped by a Westphalian political imaginary, which sharply distinguished “domestic” from “international” space, claims for recognition generally concerned internal status-hierarchies. Appealing to the national conscience for an end to nationally institutionalized disrespect, claimants pressed national governments to outlaw discrimination and accommodate differences among citizens. In both cases, the Keynesian-Westphalian frame was assumed. Whether the matter concerned redistribution or recognition, class differentials or status hierarchies, it went without saying that the unit within which justice applied was the modern territorial state.

The Economics of Growth

Abstract: This comprehensive introduction to economic growth presents the main facts and puzzles about growth, proposes simple methods and models needed to explain these facts, acquaints the reader with the most recent theoretical and empirical developments, and provides tools with which to analyze policy design. The treatment of growth theory is fully accessible to students with a background no more advanced than elementary calculus and probability theory; the reader need not master all the subtleties of dynamic programming and stochastic processes to learn what is essential about such issues as cross-country convergence, the effects of financial development on growth, and the consequences of globalization. The book, which grew out of courses taught by the authors at Harvard and Brown universities, can be used both by advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and as a reference for professional economists in government or international financial organizations. The Economics of Growth first presents the main growth paradigms: the neoclassical model, the AK model, Romer's product variety model, and the Schumpeterian model. The text then builds on the main paradigms to shed light on the dynamic process of growth and development, discussing such topics as club convergence, directed technical change, the transition from Malthusian stagnation to sustained growth, general purpose technologies, and the recent debate over institutions versus human capital as the primary factor in cross-country income differences. Finally, the book focuses on growth policies—analyzing the effects of liberalizing market competition and entry, education policy, trade liberalization, environmental and resource constraints, and stabilization policy—and the methodology of growth policy design. All chapters include literature reviews and problem sets. An appendix covers basic concepts of econometrics.

Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited: China, Japan, and the United States.

Abstract: Published twenty years ago, the original "Preschool in Three Cultures" was a landmark in the study of education: a profoundly enlightening exploration of the different ways preschoolers are taught in China, Japan, and the United States. Here, lead author Joseph Tobin - along with new collaborators Yeh Hsueh and Mayumi Karasawa - revisits his original research to discover how two decades of globalization and sweeping social transformation have affected the way these three cultures educate and care for their youngest pupils. Putting their subjects' responses into historical perspective, Tobin, Hsueh, and Karasawa analyze the pressures put on schools to evolve and to stay the same, discuss how the teachers adapt to these demands, and examine the patterns and processes of continuity and change in each country. "Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited" artfully and insightfully illustrates the surprising, illuminating, and at times entertaining experiences of four-year-olds - and their teachers - on both sides of the Pacific.

Changing drivers of deforestation and new opportunities for conservation

Abstract: Over the past 50 years, human agents of deforestation have changed in ways that have potentially important implications for conservation efforts. We characterized these changes through a meta-analysis of case studies of land-cover change in the tropics. From the 1960s to the 1980s, small-scale farmers, with state assistance, deforested large areas of tropical forest in Southeast Asia and Latin America. As globalization and urbanization increased during the 1980s, the agents of deforestation changed in two important parts of the tropical biome, the lowland rainforests in Brazil and Indonesia. Well-capitalized ranchers, farmers, and loggers producing for consumers in distant markets became more prominent in these places and this globalization weakened the historically strong relationship between local population growth and forest cover. At the same time, forests have begun to regrow in some tropical uplands. These changing circumstances, we believe, suggest two new and differing strategies for biodiversity conservation in the tropics, one focused on conserving uplands and the other on promoting environmental stewardship in lowlands and other areas conducive to industrial agriculture.

Banking Globalization and Monetary Transmission

Abstract: The globalization of banking in the United States is influencing the monetary transmission mechanism both domestically and in foreign markets. Using quarterly information from all U.S. banks filing call reports between 1980 and 2006, we show that globalized banks activate internal capital markets with their overseas affiliates to insulate themselves partially from changes in domestic liquidity conditions. The existence of these internal capital markets directly contributes to an international propagation of domestic liquidity shocks to lending by affiliated banks abroad. While these results imply a substantially more active lending channel than documented in Kashyap and Stein (2000), they also imply that the lending channel within the United States is declining in strength as banking becomes more globalized and monetary transmission abroad likewise increases in strength.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Abstract: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is one of the least written about and least understood of our major global institutions. This new book builds a well-rounded understanding of this crucial, though often neglected, institution, with a range of clearly written chapters that: outline its origins and evolution, bringing its story fully up-to-date present a clear framework for understanding the OECD set the institution within the broader context of global governance outline key criticisms and debates evaluate its future prospects. Given the immense challenges facing humanity at the start of the 21st century, the need for the OECD as a venue where the world’s leading states can discuss, on an informal and ongoing basis, the conundrums of globalization has never been greater. The clarity and rigour of these chapters cut through the layers of misunderstanding and misconception that surround the OECD, often dismissed as a ‘rich-man’s club’, ‘a think-tank’ and ‘a consultative forum’. This new book dismantles these labels to provide a holistic understanding of the organization. This concise and accessible introduction is essential reading for all students of international relations, politics and world history and affairs.

An introduction to the human development and capability approach : freedom and agency

Abstract: Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme has been publishing Human Development Reports at the global, regional, national and local level. The message in these reports is simple: development is about giving people the opportunities to live lives they value, and about enabling them to become actors in their own destinies. The message is based on the 'capability approach' of economist and Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen. Today, there is little doubt that the approach has had a considerable impact on both academics and policy makers alike. Aimed at undergraduates and post-graduates in the social sciences, as well as development practitioners, this textbook provides an introduction to the human development and capability approach; it also clarifies key concepts and fosters debate on a number of critical issues. The book offers new perspectives on a wide range of topics, which include the conceptualisation and measurement of well-being and inequality; the role of markets and economic growth in promoting development; the importance of democracy and public debate; culture and religion; health; equality and justice; and the connections between social and economic policy in addressing poverty and inequality. Case studies from across the world are used to illustrate concepts and highlight the relevance of the approach in addressing contemporary development challenges. A set of questions accompanies each chapter for seminar discussion to help readers assimilate central points and apply the approach to diverse realities. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the human development and capability approach for students and practitioners world-wide.

First as tragedy, then as farce

Abstract: "n this bravura analysis of the current global crisis - following on from his bestselling "Welcome to the Desert of the Real"--Slavoj Zizek argues that the liberal idea of the end of history, declared by Francis Fukuyama during the 1990s, has had to die twice. After the collapse of the liberal-democratic political utopia, on the morning of 9/11, came the collapse of the economic utopia of global market capitalism at the end of 2008. Marx argued that history repeats itself-occurring first as tragedy, the second time as farce - and Zizek, following Herbert Marcuse, notes here that the repetition as farce can be even more terrifying than the original tragedy. The financial meltdown signals that the fantasy of globalization is over and as millions are put out of work it has become impossible to ignore the irrationality of global capitalism. Just a few months before the crash, the world's priorities seemed to be global warming, AIDS, and access to medicine, food and water- tasks labelled as urgent, but with any real action repeatedly postponed. Now, after the financial implosion, the urgent need to act seems to have become unconditional - with the result that undreamt of quantities of cash were immediately found and then poured into the financial sector without any regard for the old priorities. Do we need further proof, Zizek asks, that Capital is the Real of our lives: the Real whose demands are more absolute than even the most pressing problems of our natural and social world?"

Immigration, Europe and the ‘new’ cultural dimension

Abstract: Kriesi et al. announced the birth of a new cleavage in contemporary Western Europe, one dividing the winners and losers of globalisation. Their studies in 2006 and 2008 contain analyses of party positions in six countries, based on the contents of editorial sections of newspapers. This article challenges the main conclusion of Kriesi et al. by demonstrating − on the basis of two expert surveys − that party positions are mainly structured by one dimension. The structure detected by Kriesi et al. in their analysis of parties is not found, except concerning voter positions. A consequence of this article's findings is that large groups of citizens are not represented by any parties, in particular those who are left-wing on socio-economic issues and right-wing on cultural issues. The article in its conclusion discusses possible causes for the differences between these findings and those of Kriesi et al., and the implications of these findings for democratic representation.

First as tragedy, then as farce

Abstract: In this bravura analysis of the current global crisis - following on from his bestselling "Welcome to the Desert of the Real" - Slavoj Zizek argues that the liberal idea of the end of history, declared by Francis Fukuyama during the 1990s, has had to die twice. After the collapse of the liberal-democratic political utopia, on the morning of 9/11, came the collapse of the economic utopia of global market capitalism at the end of 2008. Marx argued that history repeats itself-occurring first as tragedy, the second time as farce - and Zizek, following Herbert Marcuse, notes here that the repetition as farce can be even more terrifying than the original tragedy. The financial meltdown signals that the fantasy of globalization is over and as millions are put out of work it has become impossible to ignore the irrationality of global capitalism. Just a few months before the crash, the world's priorities seemed to be global warming, AIDS, and access to medicine, food and water- tasks labelled as urgent, but with any real action repeatedly postponed. Now, after the financial implosion, the urgent need to act seems to have become unconditional - with the result that undreamt of quantities of cash were immediately found and then poured into the financial sector without any regard for the old priorities. Do we need further proof, Zizek asks, that Capital is the Real of our lives: the Real whose demands are more absolute than even the most pressing problems of our natural and social world?

Regional Development and the Competitive Dynamics of Global Production Networks: An East Asian Perspective

Abstract: Yeung H. W.-C. Regional development and the competitive dynamics of global production networks: an East Asian perspective, Regional Studies. The debate on the nature and dynamics of regional development in both academic and policy circles has now moved on from the earlier focus on endogenous regional assets to analysing the complex relationship between globalization and regional change. This position paper attempts to engage with this debate through the experience of regional development in East Asia. The paper shows that regional development cannot be understood independently of the changing dynamics of global production networks. While the existing literature on East Asia tends to focus on the state as the key driver of economic development at the national and regional levels, it is argued that the developmental state is a necessary but not sufficient condition for regional development to take place. Instead, one needs to study the complex strategic coupling of those economic actors, particularly large ...

Editorial: work-life balance: a matter of choice?

Abstract: Work–life balance has come to the forefront of policy discourse in developed countries in recent years, against a backdrop of globalization and rapid technological change, an ageing population and concerns over labour market participation rates, particularly those of mothers at a time when fertility rates are falling (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2004). Within the European Union the reconciliation of work and family has become a core concern for policy and encouraged debate and policy intervention at national levels.

Virtue out of Necessity? Compliance, Commitment, and the Improvement of Labor Conditions in Global Supply Chains:

Abstract: Private, voluntary compliance programs, promoted by global corporations and nongovernmental organizations alike, have produced only modest and uneven improvements in working conditions and labor ri...

Global warming—global responsibility? Media frames of collective action and scientific certainty:

Abstract: The increasing interconnectedness of the world that characterizes the process of globalization compels us to interlink local, national, and transnational phenomena, such as environmental risks, in ...

Globalization and Inequalities: Complexity and Contested Modernities

Abstract: 1. Introduction: Progress and modernities What is Progress? More money or longer life? Progress as a contested project Economic development Equality Human Rights Human development, well-being and capabilities Competing projects: neoliberalism and social democracy Contesting conceptions of progress Multiple Complex Inequalities Multiple and intersecting inequalities Complex inequalities: difference, inequality and progress Modernity? Postmodernity? Not yet Modern? Varieties of Modernity? Modernity or postmodernity? Late, second or liquid modernity? Multiple modernities? Not yet modern? Varieties of modernity Defining modernity Globalization Globalization as the erosion of distinctive and separate societies Resistant to globalization Already global Coevolution of global processes with trajectories of development Implications of globalization for social theory Complexity Theory 2. Theorising multiple social systems Multiple Inequalities and Intersectionality Regimes and Domains System and Its Environment: Over-Lapping, Non-Saturating, Non-Nested Systems Societalisation not Societies Emergence and Projects Bodies, Technologies and the Social Path Dependency Co-evolution of Complex Adaptive Systems in Changing Fitness Landscapes 3. Economies Redefining the Economy Domestic Labour as Labour State Welfare as part of the Economy What are Economic Inequalities? What is Progress in the Economy? From Pre-Modern to Modern: The Second Great Transformation Global Processes and Economic Inequalities What global processes? Country Processes Varieties of Political Economy Varieties of employment relations Varieties of Welfare Provision Critical turning points into varieties of political economy 4. Polities Reconceptualising Types of Polities States Nations Nation-States? Organised religions Empires Hegemon Global political institutions Polities Overlap and do not Politically Saturate a Territory Democracy Democracy and modernity Redefining democracy The development of democracy 5. Violence Developing the Ontology of Violence Modernity and Violence Path Dependency in Trajections of Violence Global 6. Civil societies Theorising Civil Society Modernity and Civil Society Civil Society Projects Global Civil Societies and Waves Examples of waves 7. Regimes of complex inequality Beyond Class Regimes Gender Regimes Ethnic Regimes Further Regimes of Complex Inequalities Disability Sexual orientation Intersecting Regimes of Complex Inequality 8. Varieties of modernity Neoliberal and Social Democratic Varieties of Modernity Path Dependency at the Economy/Polity Nexus? Welfare provision Conclusions on welfare Employment regulation Inequality Conclusions on political economy Path Dependency at the Violence Nexus Modernity and path dependency Indicators Development, inequality and violence Gendered violence Path dependency of the violence nexus in OECD countries Violence, economic inequality and the polity/economy nexus Conclusions on violence Gender Regime Public and domestic gender regimes Development and the public gender regime Domestic and public gender regimes and gender inequality Varieties of public gender regimes Democracy and Inequality 9. Measuring progress Economic Development Equality Economic inequality Global economic inequality Beyond the household Economic inequalities and flows Economic inequalities in summary Inequalities in non-economic domains Democracy Human Rights Human Development, Well-Being and Capabilities Key Indicator Sets: What Indicators What Underlying Concepts of Progress? Extending the Frameworks and Indicators of Progress: Where do Environmental Sustainability and Violence Fit? Environmental sustainability Violence Achievement of Visions of Progress: Comparing Neoliberalism and Social Democracy Economic development: neoliberalism vs. social democracy Equality: neoliberalism vs. social democracy Human rights: neoliberalism vs. social democracy Human development, well-being and capabilities: neoliberalism vs. social democracy Trade offs or complementary? 10. Comparative paths through modernity: neoliberalism and social democracy Political Economy Violence Gender Transformations: The Emergence of Employed Women as the New Champions of Social Democracy Employed women as the new champions of social democracy Dampeners and Catalysts of Economic Growth: War and Gender Regime Transformations Conclusions 11. Contested futures Financial and Economic Crisis 2007-9 Contesting Hegemons and the Future of the World 12. Conclusions The Challenge of Complex Inequalities and Globalization to Social Theory

What We Mean by Social Determinants of Health

Abstract: This article analyzes the changes in health conditions and quality of life in the populations of developed and developing countries over the past 30 years, resulting from neoliberal policies developed by many governments and promoted by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, and other international agencies It challenges interpretations by the analysts of “globalization,” including the common assumption that states are disappearing The author shows that what has been happening is not a reduction of state interventions but a change in the nature and character of those interventions, resulting from major changes in class (and race and gender) power relations in each country, with establishment of an alliance between the dominant classes of developed and developing countries—a class alliance responsible for the promotion of its ideology, neoliberalism This is the cause of the enormous health inequalities in the world today The article concludes with a critical analysis of