Globalization is the word used to describe the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information. Countries have built economic partnerships to facilitate these movements over many centuries. But the term gained popularity after the Cold War in the early 1990s, as these cooperative arrangements shaped modern everyday life. According to WHO, globalization can be defined as ” the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples and countries. It is generally understood to include two inter-related elements: the opening of international borders to increasingly fast flows of goods, services, finance, people and ideas; and the changes in institutions and policies at national and international levels that facilitate or promote such flows.” What Is Globalization in Geography? In geography, globalization is defined as the set of processes (economic, social, cultural, technological, institutional) that contribute to the relationship between societies and individuals around the world. It is a progressive process by which exchanges and flows between different parts of the world are intensified. Globalization is deeply connected with economic systems and markets, which, on their turn, impact and are impacted by social issues, cultural factors that are hard to overcome, regional specificities, timings of action and collaborative networks. All of this requires, on one hand, global consensus and cooperation, and on the other, country-specific solutions, apart from a good definition of the adjective “just”.

1. What is Globalization? All Definitions of Globalization
A Simple Globalization Definition
Globalization means the speedup of movements and exchanges (of human beings, goods, and
services, capital, technologies or cultural practices) all over the planet. One of the effects of
globalization is that it promotes and increases interactions between different regions and
populations around the globe.
An Official Definition of Globalization by the World Health Organization (WHO)
According to WHO, globalization can be defined as” the increased interconnectedness and
interdependence of peoples and countries. It is generally understood to include two inter-related
elements: the opening of international borders to increasingly fast flows of goods, services,
finance, people and ideas; and the changes in institutions and policies at national and
international levels that facilitate or promote such flows.
What Is Globalization in the Economy?
According to the Committee for Development Policy (a subsidiary body of the United
Nations), from an economic point of view, globalization can be defined as:
“(…) the increasing interdependence of world economies as a result of the growing scale of
cross-border trade of commodities and services, the flow of international capital and the wide
and rapid spread of technologies. It reflects the continuing expansion and mutual integration of
market frontiers (…) and the rapid growing significance of information in all types of productive
activities and marketization are the two major driving forces for economic globalization.”
What Is Globalization in Geography?
In geography, globalization is defined as the set of processes (economic, social, cultural,
technological, and institutional) that contribute to the relationship between societies and
individuals around the world. It is a progressive process by which exchanges and flows between
different parts of the world are intensified.
Globalization and the G20: What is the G20?
The G20 is a global bloc composed by the governments and central bank governors from 19
countries and the European Union (EU). Established in 1999, the G20 gathers the most important
industrialized and developing economies to discuss international economic and financial
stability. Together, the nations of the G20 account for around 80% of global economic output,
nearly 75 percent of all global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.
G20 leaders get together in an annual summit to discuss and coordinate pressing global issues of
mutual interest. Though economics and trade are usually the centerpieces of each summit’s
agenda, issues like climate change, migration policies, terrorism, the future of work, or global
wealth are recurring focuses too. Since the G20 leaders represent the “political backbone of the

2. global financial architecture that secures open markets, orderly capital flows, and a safety net
for countries in difficulty”, it is often thanks to bilateral meetings during summits that major
international agreements are achieved and that globalization is able to move forward.
The joint action of G20 leaders has unquestionably been useful to save the global financial
system in the 2008/2009 crisis, thanks to trade barriers removal and the implementation of huge
financial reforms. Nonetheless, the G20 was been struggling to be successful at coordinating
monetary and fiscal policies and unable to root out tax evasion and corruption, among other
downsides of globalization. As a result of this and other failures from the G20 in coordinating
globalization, popular, nationalist movements across the world have been defending countries
should pursue their interests alone or form fruitful coalitions.
How Do We Make Globalization More Just?
The ability of countries to rise above narrow self-interest has brought unprecedented economic
wealth and plenty of applicable scientific progress. However, for different reasons, not everyone
has been benefiting the same from globalization and technological change: wealth is unfairly
distributed and economic growth came at huge environmental costs. How can countries rise
above narrow self-interest and act together or designing fairer societies and a healthier planet?
How do we make globalization more just?
According to Christine Lagarde, former President of the International Monetary Fund, “debates
about trade and access to foreign goods are as old as society itself” and history tells us that
closing borders or protectionism policies are not the way to go, as many countries doing it have
failed.
Lagarde defends we should pursue globalization policies that extend the benefits of openness and
integration while alleviating their side effects. How to make globalization more just is a very
complex question that involves redesigning economic systems. That’s the question.
Globalization is deeply connected with economic systems and markets, which, on their turn,
impact and are impacted by social issues, cultural factors that are hard to overcome, regional
specificities, timings of action and collaborative networks. All of this requires, on one hand,
global consensus and cooperation, and on the other, country-specific solutions, apart from a good
definition of the adjective “just”.
When Did Globalization Begin? The History of Globalization

3. For some people, this global phenomenon is inherent to human nature. Because of this, some say
globalization begun about 60,000 years ago, at the beginning of human history. Throughout time,
human societies’ exchanging trade has been growing. Since the old times, different civilizations
have developed commercial trade routes and experienced cultural exchanges. And as well, the
migratory phenomenon has also been contributing to these population exchanges. Especially
nowadays, since traveling became quicker, more comfortable, and more affordable.
This phenomenon has continued throughout history, notably through military conquests and
exploration expeditions. But it wasn’t until technological advances in transportation and
communication that globalization speeded up. It was particularly after the second half of the 20th
century that world trades accelerated in such a dimension and speed that the term “globalization”
started to be commonly used.
Examples of Globalization
Because of trade developments and financial exchanges, we often think of globalization as an
economic and financial phenomenon. Nonetheless, it includes a much wider field than just
flowing of goods, services or capital. Often referred to as the globalization concept map, some
examples of globalization are:
 Economic globalization: is the development of trade systems within transnational actors such as
corporations or NGOs;
 Financial globalization: can be linked with the rise of a global financial system with
international financial exchanges and monetary exchanges. Stock markets, for instance, are a
great example of the financially connected global world since when one stock market has a
decline, it affects other markets negatively as well as the economy as a whole.
 Cultural globalization: refers to the interpenetration of cultures which, as a consequence, means
nations adopt principles, beliefs, and costumes of other nations, losing their unique culture to a
unique, globalized supra-culture;
 Political globalization: the development and growing influence of international organizations
such as the UN or WHO means governmental action takes place at an international level. There
are other bodies operating a global level such as NGOs like Doctors without borders or Oxfam;
 Sociological globalization: information moves almost in real-time, together with the
interconnection and interdependence of events and their consequences. People move all the time
too, mixing and integrating different societies;
 Technological globalization: the phenomenon by which millions of people are interconnected
thanks to the power of the digital world via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype or
Youtube.
 Geographic globalization: is the new organization and hierarchy of different regions of the
world that is constantly changing. Moreover, with transportation and flying made so easy and
affordable, apart from a few countries with demanding visas, it is possible to travel the world
without barely any restrictions;
 Ecological globalization: accounts for the idea of considering planet Earth as a single global
entity – a common good all societies should protect since the weather affects everyone and we

4. are all protected by the same atmosphere. To this regard, it is often said that the poorest
countries that have been polluting the least will suffer the most from climate change.
The Benefits of Globalization
Globalization has benefits that cover many different areas. It reciprocally developed economies
all over the world and increased cultural exchanges. It also allowed financial exchanges between
companies, changing the paradigm of work. Many people are nowadays citizens of the world.
The origin of goods became secondary and geographic distance is no longer a barrier for many
services to happen. Let’s dig deeper.
The Engine of Globalization – An Economic Example
The most visible impacts of globalization are definitely the ones affecting the economic
world. Globalization has led to a sharp increase in trade and economic exchanges, but also to a
multiplication of financial exchanges.
In the 1970s world economies opened up and the development of free trade policies accelerated
the globalization phenomenon. Between 1950 and 2010, world exports increased 33-fold. This
significantly contributed to increasing the interactions between different regions of the world.
This acceleration of economic exchanges has led to strong global economic growth. It fostered as
well a rapid global industrial development that allowed the rapid development of many of the
technologies and commodities we have available nowadays.
Knowledge became easily shared and international cooperation among the brightest minds
speeded things up. According to some analysts, globalization has also contributed to improving
global economic conditions, creating much economic wealth (thus was, nevertheless, unequally
distributed – more information ahead).
Globalization Benefits – A Financial Example
At the same time, finance also became globalized. From the 1980s, driven by neo-liberal
policies, the world of finance gradually opened. Many states, particularly the US under Ronald
Reagan and the UK under Margaret Thatcher introduced the famous “3D Policy”:
Disintermediation, Decommissioning, and Deregulation.
The idea was to simplify finance regulations, eliminate mediators and break down the barriers
between the world’s financial centers. And the goal was to make it easier to exchange capital
between the world’s financial players. This financial globalization has contributed to the rise of a
global financial market in which contracts and capital exchanges have multiplied.
The Negative Effects of Globalization
Globalization is a complex phenomenon. As such, it has a considerable influence on several
areas of contemporary societies. Let’s take a look at some of the main negative effects
globalization has had so far.

5. The Negative Effects of Globalization on Cultural Loss
Apart from all the benefits globalization has had on allowing cultural exchanges it also
homogenized the world’s cultures. That’s why specific cultural characteristics from some
countries are disappearing. From languages to traditions or even specific industries. That’s why
according to UNESCO, the mix between the benefits of globalization and the protection of local
culture’s uniqueness requires a careful approach.
The Economic Negative Effects of Globalization
Despite its benefits, the economic growth driven by globalization has not been done without
awakening criticism. The consequences of globalization are far from homogeneous: income
inequalities, disproportional wealth and trades that benefit parties differently. In the end, one of
the criticisms is that some actors (countries, companies, individuals) benefit more from the
phenomena of globalization, while others are sometimes perceived as the “losers” of
globalization. As a matter of fact, a recent report from Oxfam says that 82% of the world’s
generated wealth goes to 1% of the population.
The Negative Effects of Globalization on the Environment
Many critics have also pointed out that globalization has negative effects on the environment.
Thus, the massive development of transport that has been the basis of globalization is also
responsible for serious environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions, global
warming or air pollution. At the same time, global economic growth and industrial productivity
are both the driving force and the major consequences of globalization. They also have big
environmental consequences as they contribute to the depletion of natural resources,
deforestation and the destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity. The worldwide
distribution of goods is also creating a big garbage problem, especially on what concerns plastic
pollution.
Globalization, Sustainable Development, and CSR
Globalization affects all sectors of activity to a greater or lesser extent. By doing so, its gap with
issues that have to do with sustainable development and corporate social responsibility is short.
By promoting large-scale industrial production and the globalized circulation of goods,
globalization is sometimes opposed to concepts such as resource savings, energy savings or the
limitation of greenhouse gases. As a result, critics of globalization often argue that it contributes
to accelerating climate change and that it does not respect the principles of ecology. At the same
time, big companies that don’t give local jobs and choose instead to use the manpower of
countries with low wages (to have lower costs) or pay taxes in countries with more favorable
regulations is also opposed to the criteria of a CSR approach. Moreover, the ideologies of
economic growth and the constant pursuit of productivity that come along with globalization,
also make it difficult to design a sustainable economy based on resilience.

6. On the other hand, globalization is also needed for the transitioning to a more sustainable world,
since only a global synergy would really be able to allow a real ecological transition. Issues such
as global warming indeed require a coordinated response from all global players: fight against
CO2 emissions, reduction of waste, a transition to renewable energies. The same goes for ocean
or air pollution, or ocean acidification, problems that can’t be solved without global action. The
dissemination of green ideas also depends on the ability of committed actors to make them heard
globally.
The Road from Globalization to Regionalization
From a globalization perspective, regionalization means a world that is less interconnected and
has a stronger regional focus. Regionalization can also be analyzed from a corporate perspective.
For instance, businesses such as McDonald’s or Starbucks don’t sell exactly the same products
everywhere. In some specific stores, they consider people’s regional habits. That’s why the
McChicken isn’t sold in India, whereas in Portugal there’s a steak sandwich menu like the ones
you can get in a typical Portuguese restaurant.
Politically speaking, when left-wing parties are in power they tend to focus on their country’s
people, goods and services. Exchanges with the outside world aren’t seen as very valuable and
importations are often left aside.
Globalization Quotes by World Influencers
Many world leaders, decision-makers and influential people have spoken about globalization.
Some stand out its positive benefits and others focus deeper on its negative effects. Find below
some of the most interesting quotes on this issue.
Politic Globalization Quotes
Globalizations quote by the former U.S President Bill Clinton
No generation has had the opportunity, as we now have, to build a global economy that
leaves no-one behind. It is a wonderful opportunity, but also a profound responsibility.
By Barack Obama, former U.S. president
Globalization is a fact, because of technology, because of an integrated global supply chain,
because of changes in transportation. And we’re not going to be able to build a wall around
that.
By Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former International Monetary Fund Managing Director
“We can’t speak day after day about globalization without at the same time having in mind
that…we need multilateral solutions.”

7. By Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada
“We have to remember we’re in a global economy. The purpose of fiscal stimulus is not
simply to sustain activity in our national economies but to help the global economy as well,
and that’s why it’s so critical that measures in those packages avoid anything that smacks
of protectionism.”
By Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
“My guiding principle is that prosperity can be shared. We can create wealth together. The
global economy is not a zero-sum game.”
The Globalization of Supply Chains and its Implications for
Trade and Commerce
Globalization of Supply Chains and its Implications
We have discussed how the globalization of the world economy has made the globe more
integrated and interconnected. While this has both positive and negative effects on the way
global trade and commerce takes place, there is one critical aspect that needs our attention. That
is to do with the globalization of the supply chains that link world trade and commerce. Before
launching into a full-fledged discussion, it is useful to consider what supply chains are and what
globalization has done to them. Supply chains are the networks of buyers, sellers, intermediaries,
and vendors involved in the production and distribution of goods and services. The interlinking
transport and communication that facilitates the trade and commerce is also part of the supply
chain.
The globalization of the supply chains means that goods produced in one part of the globe
can be transported to another part of the globe and indeed, each component of the goods
thus produced can be made in different countries. For instance, if we take the Apple iPhones,
different parts are made in different countries including China and the finished product is
shipped to the United States and Europe where it is sold.
Some Examples of Disruption of Supply Chains
The implications of the globalization of supply chains is that in case of a breakdown in one part
of the globe of the supply chain, the whole network is impacted leading to delays and disruptions
in the transport and movement of goods. This means that any disturbance in one country in the
supply chain impacts the entire supply chain leading to chaos and confusion. This is definitely
one of the negative impacts that the globalization of the supply chains has for manufacturers in
the global economy. For instance, because of the Fukushima Earthquake in Japan, the delivery of
components in the electronics industry was impacted leading to all round disruptions and delays
in the supply chain. Similarly, in recent years, disturbances in India have meant that the supply
chains for services have been disrupted which has impacted the BPO and the IT sector to a great
extent. The remedial measures for such a negative impact would be to have backup suppliers and

8. have backup sites for the suppliers themselves so that they do not let the buyers down because of
any disruptions.
Closing Thoughts
Globalization has many advantages and disadvantages. In a similar manner to globalization
creating prosperity, the fact remains that globalization of the supply chains creates problems as
well. Hence, the implications for this are that each of the party in the supply chain takes
precautions and ensures that the network is not disrupted in case of any disruptions to the place
of operations or in the transport and communication links. We cannot rule out globalization
completely and hence, we must take appropriate measures to safeguard against the perils of the
process. This is where contingency planning and business continuity planning come into the
picture and this is where the capabilities of the stakeholders determine the success or otherwise
of the supply chain.