Globalization is a complex process that has economic, social, cultural and political dimensions. It involves the increasing integration of trade, investment and financial flows between countries, facilitated by advances in technology and transportation. While globalization is often viewed as a modern phenomenon, it has historical roots going back centuries as ideas, goods and people have spread between different parts of the world through exploration, migration and trade. The current era of globalization is characterized by a highly integrated global economy and society driven by multinational corporations and new communication technologies.

1. The term 'globalization' is multi-dimensional. It has economic, social,
cultural and political connotations. It is
defined as a process of rapid economic
integration among countries driven by the
liberalization of trade, investment and
capital flows, as well as technological change.
The process enabling financial and investment markets to operate
internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved
communications.
OR
The emergence since the 1980s of a single world market dominated bymul
tinational companies, leading to a diminishing capacity for national
governments to control their economies.
OR
The process by which a company etc expands to operate
internationally…

2. Globalization is an historical process that began with the first movement
of people out of Africa into other parts of the world. Traveling short,
then longer distances, migrants, merchants, and others have always
taken their ideas, customs, and products into new lands. The melding,
borrowing, and adaptation of outside influences can be found in many
areas of human life.

3. While globalization is often referred
to as a contemporary or modern
phenomenon, globalization can be
studied from a historical perspective,
by using the historical record
spanning many centuries or
millennia. A historical analysis of
globalization, its origins, growth and
implications, can provide a more comprehensive look, and better
understanding of the concept and discussion surrounding globalization.
Given the increasing amount of literature on globalization and its
numerous interpretations, many scholars agree that presently it is even
more important to understand the historical context of globalization.
Much of the literature provided discusses how the global economy of the
21st century is built upon the foundation and expansion of world
commerce and trade established many centuries ago.
Some world historians attach globalization big bang' significance to 1492
(Christopher Columbus stumbles on the Americas in search of spices) and
1498 (Vasco da Gama makes an end run around Africa and snatches
monopoly rents away from the Arab and Venetian spice traders). Such
scholars are on the side of Adam Smith who believed that these were the
two most important events in recorded history. Other world historians
insist that globalization stretches back even earlier. There is a third view
which argues that the world economy was fragmented and completely
de-globalized before the 19th century. None of these three competing
views has explicitly shown the difference between trade expansion
driven by booming demand and supply within the trading economies
(e.g., the underlying fundamental, population growth), and trade
expansion driven by the integration of markets between trading
economies (e.g., the central manifestation of globalization, commodity

4. price convergence). There is no evidence supporting the view that the
world economy was globally integrated prior to 1492 and/or 1498; there
is also no evidence supporting the view that these two dates had the
economic impact on the global economy that world historians assign to
them; but there is abundant evidence supporting the view that the 19th
century contained a very big globalization bang.
The origin of globalization can be traced back till the 16th century when
the West started to explore and discover for the new worlds and
continents, bringing the English to India in form of East India Company,
there first multinational was born for us and the rest is recorded history.
The process of global economic integration was perpetrated at the behest
of World War II and the first Great Depression, when the leaders of
Britain and the US fumbled with the idea of reconstructing the war-torn
world monetary system with a focus on favoring free of capital
internationally, turn endure a liberal, capitalist world at the end of war
to counter the shadows of Socialism and Marxism. To promote the new
monetary world order, a conference was convened in July 1944, at
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to create the world's most powerful
institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (the World Bank), and the Internationally Monetary Fund
(IMF). With the development of international financial markets in 1970s
and the debt crisis of developing countries, several developing countries
opted for stabilization and structural adjustment programs, to qualify
for the loans from IMF and WB. The first IMF/WB Structural
Adjustment Loan (SAL) was given to Turkey, in the backdrop of
appropriate market oriented policies, accompanied with conditional ties,
in 1980. These programs in a nutshell were aimed at liberalization of
developing-countries markets. The reforms and conditional ties imposed

5. laid basic foundation to open economies to steer the mechanism of
economic integration giving birth to the most controversial of all among
international organizations, the World Trade Organization
Pakistan is a mixed economy consisting of a public sector domination of
major sectors of the economy, which is changing very quickly under the
freer market agenda of WTO making the role of government to
minimum level under the globalization policies guided by World Bank
and IMF. Although with the growing awareness among the intelligentsia
of the country about the core issues of
development not being address
appropriately yet we have seen the growth
role of institutions of globalization
mentoring the economic direction of the
country. In the preview of economic
sanctions imposed on Pakistan in 1998,
political instability, state-of-war with
India, and most importantly the 11th September Crisis has not been able
to hamper the country which these events has the potential. Economic
growth remained mixed, in a year when many other Asian countries
were recording negative growth. Inflation did not accelerate
significantly, as was anticipated by most external forecasters. The
current account deficit declined further, so that Pakistan's short-run
balance of payments position remained viable once lending by the IMF
and World Bank was resumed and debt had been rescheduled by the
London and Paris Clubs. Complacency would nonetheless be out of place.
Exports have been declining, normal capital inflows have almost dried
up, and the country's weak credibility and policy uncertainties have
discouraged foreign direct investment in particular and productive
investment in general. Pakistan is the only country in South Asia that
has recorded a lower rate of growth in the 1990sthan in the preceding
decades. Suspension of the convertibility of the foreign currency deposits,

6. and the London and Paris Club rescheduling, were essential in the short
run, but they will tend nevertheless to compromise Pakistan's ability to
borrow internationally for years to come. The social indicators literacy,
mortality, fertility, and poverty remain poor, even for a country with
Pakistan's per capita income, and the squeeze on the budgets of the
provincial government suggests that this is unlikely to improve much in
the short run. The country clearly faces a difficult challenge in reviving
its economy and in achieving a level of social standards in which it can
begin to take pride.
The World Trade Organization has:
1] Formalized the global trading system
2] Provided, in principle, a structured Framework for ensuring a level
playing.
3] And a mechanism for dispute resolution.
4] Several WTO agreements have a direct bearing on Pakistan poverty
reduction efforts.
Pakistan liberalized its economy as part of the structural adjustment
conditional ties of the IMF program and World Bank lending. Pakistan’s
expansion in trade has not been as spectacular as that of some of the fast
globalizes. Pakistan’s exports merchandize exports have not kept pace
with that of the rest of the world. Pakistan’s experience with
globalization between 1990 and 2002 has not been great. Pakistan’s share
in the world merchandize exports has fallen from 0.16 to 0.15. Chinas

7. share in world merchandize exports went up from 1.80 to 5.04.
Malaysia’s share in world merchandize exports has increased from 0.85
to 1.44
Impact of globalization on the education system in Pakistan in the
context of its status as a third world country. The globalization calls for
exchange of ideas and thoughts. Educationists can exchange their views
and ideas with their counter parts around the world. Through a
productive exchange of thoughts, the standard of education in Pakistan
can be raised to the international level. There are certain genuine
concerns about the relevance of alien thoughts but nothing should be
accepted as a package. Local experts should carefully review such ideas
before adopting them for the solution of their problems. The source of
foreign funding is important because it might have a hidden agenda.
Unless such an agenda is made public for discussion, the worth of such
funding is difficult to assess.
Major benefit: increasing economic
welfare/well-being
Major cost: integration/sublimation of
cultures and social values.
1] Provide a higher income for people in
third-world nations.

8. 2] Raise the standard of living of most of these people from extreme
poverty to moderate poverty, so that they can eat more nutritious foods
and have cleaner potable water.
3] With higher income also comes better education -- knowledge is being
shared.
4] With better knowledge, better understanding about health care,
superstition, poor habits, and human rights.
5] Hopefully a better chance at world peace and less racial and religious
hatred.
Opponents of globalization point out to its negative effects. Some of them
are listed below.
1] Developed nations have outsourced
manufacturing and white collar jobs.
That means less jobs for their people.
This has happened because
manufacturing work is outsourced to
developing nations like China where the
cost of manufacturing goods and wages
are lower. Programmers, editors,
scientists and accountants have lost their jobs due to outsourcing to
cheaper locations like India.
2] Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child
workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are
ignored to produce cheap goods.

9. 3] Job insecurity. Earlier people had stable, permanent jobs. Now people
live in constant dread of losing their jobs to competition. Increased job
competition has led to reduction in wages and consequently lower
standards of living.
4] Terrorists have access to sophisticated weapons enhancing their
ability to inflict damage. Terrorists use the Internet for communicating
among themselves.
5] Companies have set up industries causing pollution in countries with
poor regulation of pollution.
6] Fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC are spreading in the
developing world. People are consuming more junk food from these joints
which has an adverse impact on their health.
7] The benefits of globalization are not universal. The rich are getting
richer and the poor are becoming poorer.
8] Bad aspects of foreign cultures are affecting the local cultures through
TV and the Internet.
9] Enemy nations can spread propaganda through the Internet.
10] Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the
remotest corners of the globe.
11] Local industries are being taken over by foreign multinationals.
12] The increase in prices has reduced the government's ability to sustain
social welfare schemes in developed countries.
13] There is increase in human trafficking.
14] Multinational Companies and corporations which were previously
restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political
decisions.

10. As globalization involves enterprises and workers of nearly all the
world's countries in the goods as well as in the service sector.
Consequently, the majority of the world's labor force is experiencing the
effects of international competition. There is need for a coordinated and
collaborative effort among the South Asian countries to expand trade in
the region. Pakistan needs to diversify its exports base and shift from
primary agricultural products to more value added and industrial
products. Privatization will have to be placed at the top of the
Government agenda. Pakistan should increase exports not only to earn
more foreign exchange but also to join the world community in
globalization. Similarly, direct foreign investment is crucial for resource
mobilization. It is therefore, strongly recommended that the government
of Pakistan must attract foreign direct investment by giving them
various incentives. Furthermore, financial depth is also playing crucial
role in the overall development of the country. It is important that
we should strengthen our financial sector for capital flow. Of course,
political stability is crucial for economic development of the country.