I have been asked to talk tonight about the implications of globalization for worldwide economic growth and development. Globalization is the term used for the unprecedented, rapid, and worldwide flow of private capital ideas, technology, goods and services. It began during the recovery from World War II with the gradual development of tariff-free markets and the rise of multinational business firms. It exploded with the coming of computers and the Information Age. The pace of progress is now so fast, its reach is so wide, that at some point early in the next century, every person on earth will have the ability to communicate almost any kind of information to any other person, instantly and cheaply.
Globalization has impacts well beyond the economic sphere.
A sudden reversal of capital flows can cause nations to slide into deep recession, undermine governments and cause social political turmoil. When nations increase their sale of arms to add to their reserves of hard currency the peace is threatened. But globalization has also produced enormous positive rewards. Thc opening of once isolated nations and untapped markets has benefited peoples from Seoul to Santiago and from Budapest to Botswana. Real incomes in developing countries are 50 per cent higher today than they were 15 years ago.