Globalization and Poverty : North-South Connections

Presentation to the Workshop onGlobal Connections : UK and Global Poverty

SolutionsJoseph Rowntree Foundation

London24th November 2010Professor Tony McGrewStrathclyde University

Overview

Globalization and Poverty: Controversies Globalization and Poverty: MechanismsGlobalization and Poverty: Challenges

Three ways of thinking about globalization..

Process– objective trends/tendencies of growing worldwide interconnection and interdependenceProject- political,economic,organizational strategy or programme- e.g. China’s development strategy globalizing its economy; organized crime globalizing its activities; Multinationals and offshoring Paradigm- collective way of thinking about ,talking about, simplifying ,explaining the world

Globalization

implies closer economic integration through trade,finance,and production linkages; emergence of a single planetary economy What’s new ? :form, scale, speed, intensity of global economic integration

Aspects of economic globalization..

Uneven economic integration of countries into world economyEmergence of global production chains linking production sites across the globeEmergence of 24hr real-time global financial markets Redistributes risk, life chances, and economic well being

Controversies : the global condition

The Great Convergence : globalization and ‘spreading the wealth’ ,global poverty reduction, narrowing global and international income inequality, erosion North/South divideThe Great Divergence : globalization and ‘concentrating the wealth’, exaggerated poverty reduction, erosion of social protection, polarization and new geography of inequality

Controversies : North-South connections

Both accounts highlight significance of globalization : different conclusions but predicated on causal connectionsDifferent contexts : scale, severity and experience of poverty ,institutional capacity to address povertyComplexity : relative and differential impacts of globalization (wage inequality -offshoring vs. technological change; energy/food price volatility)

Mechanisms of connection

ChallengesConnection as threat : discourse of globalization as economic threat ; dangers of protectionist or displacement policy responses e.g. migrationGovernance : poverty reduction requires collaborative global and national/local responses but significant barriers e.g. MDGsKnowledge : mapping and understanding global poverty connections(significance/limits) and the experience of poverty/inequality under conditions of globalization