Globalisation
These Edexcel A-Level Economics revision notes cover unit 4.1.1, explaining what drives globalisation — including trade liberalisation, FDI, and the growth of multinational corporations — and evaluating its effects on growth, inequality, and development across different economies.
What Is Globalisation?
Globalisation is the process of increasing integration and interdependence between the world's economies.
It is characterised by:
- increased free trade in goods and services
- greater cross-border capital flows and investment
- increased foreign ownership of firms through MNCs and TNCs
- greater international mobility of labour and technology
Factors Contributing to Globalisation
- Trade liberalisation: lower trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas through the WTO and trade blocs
- Technology: containerisation, the internet, and improved transport have reduced the cost of trade and communication
- Financial deregulation: capital can move more easily across borders
- Political changes: events such as the end of the Cold War opened up new markets
- Growth of multinational corporations: firms operating in many countries help drive global integration
Impacts on Consumers
Benefits: Globalisation can give consumers lower prices, greater variety, and better quality because of increased international competition.
Costs: It may also reduce local cultural variety and lead to product homogenisation.
Impacts on Workers
Benefits: Workers may gain new employment opportunities, especially in developing countries, and wages may rise in some sectors.
Costs: Globalisation can cause structural unemployment in developed countries, increase job insecurity, and contribute to exploitation in low-cost economies.
Impacts on Firms
Benefits: Firms, especially MNCs, may gain access to larger markets, lower production costs, and economies of scale.
Costs: They also face more intense global competition, more complex management problems, and political risks.
Impacts on Governments and Economies
Benefits: Governments and economies may experience higher GDP through trade and investment, as well as technology transfer and skills development.
Costs: Globalisation may reduce policy sovereignty, increase inequality, and make economies more vulnerable to global shocks.
Impacts on the Environment
Globalisation may increase carbon emissions from transport, encourage over-exploitation of resources, and create a race to the bottom in environmental standards.
Exam Preparation
- Use stakeholder analysis by evaluating globalisation from the perspective of consumers, workers, firms, governments, and the environment.
- Link globalisation to concepts such as specialisation, comparative advantage, FDI, and inequality.
- Evaluate the idea that globalisation creates both winners and losers.
- Use context by referring to ideas such as slowbalisation, rising protectionism, and reshoring when relevant.