Globalization also offers a mix of opportunities and risks. Expanded markets and the spread of technology can lead to higher productivity and improved living standards. But they can also lead to instability and undesired changes - fear of job losses from the influx of foreign imports, financial instability due to volatile foreign capital flows, and threats to the global environment. As globalization shrinks the world, and localization multiplies the range of policy environments, successful development strategies will pay off more quickly in the new century than in the past. The consequences of flawed strategies will be revealed sooner and more painfully.
Macroeconomic stability is essential for achieving the growth needed for development.
Growth trickles down too slowly, so development efforts must address human needs directly. Sustained development must be socially inclusive and flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. So far, economic commentary has focused on the onset of globalization, with much less attention paid to the forces of localization. He contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune .