Effects of globalization on specific regions

Globalization

Poor Countries Containing the Rainforest Regions of Earth

The purpose of this work is to choose a specific geographic region and discuss the effects of globalization on the host culture. The people will be described as to their customs, economies and political policies as well as who went into the region since globalization began and what they manufactured and how labor went info effect. Finally this work will discuss the outcomes in terms of how the host culture changed and if that change was in the nature of a positive change or if the change was negative. This writer has chosen the region of developing countries in the world specifically those located on the South American continent.

Introduction

It could be very easily assumed that globalization is apt to benefit the poor developing countries in a positive manner however, the facts simply state differently as do the negative impacts inflicted upon these poorer less developed regions in the world. For example, a Press Release of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva announced that "A series of recent ILO case studies on China, India, Malaysia, Mexico and Brazil" revealed that "trade growth" in three nations of Asia, "had a generally favorable effect on employment and wages" in the manufacturing industries, but these effects were not evident in the Latin American Countries." Another case study conducted by ILO on the "marginalization of many developing countries...manufacturing exports are concentrate in just 13 countries and regions. The countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan (China) and Thailand) that witnessed a rise in their share of world manufactured exports from the 1980 amount of nine percent to the middle of the 1990s decade to a whopping figure of 22%. In relation to Bangladesh, Chile, South Korea, Mauritius, Poland, South Africa and Switzerland there were now "uniform results" in relation to the "impact of trade liberalization on income inequality." (International Labour Organization Press Release 2001 Geneva) There are assumptions that exist in relation to the standard economic theory in which trade liberalization is viewed as good, with no ambiguity to factor for developing countries and this is said to be due to the increase experienced in opportunities of employment, efficiencies increase as well as growth but....this is to furthermore increase employment opportunities and wage for the most abundant resource in contemporary times, which is that of 'skilled labor.'

The ILO papers states that, "The gains from trade are undeniable as are the costs of protectionism, so the issues is not so much whether countries should try to benefits from freer trade, but how this should be achieved. Progress is liberalizing trade in agriculture will be particularly important and further liberalization of trade barriers on labor intensive manufactured products will also be helpful."

Customs, Economies, Political Policy, Trade Interactions and Other Factors

In the work entitled "Trade Liberalization and Employment (2001) Working Party on the Social Dimension of Globalization Second Item on the Agenda a publication of the International Labour Office: Governing Body 2001 November Geneva. A noted concern is expressed over trade liberalization strategies in developing countries that need to adhere to WTO obligations may restrict policy autonomy. Furthermore the effort required of developing countries in order for them to derive benefit from world trade liberalization has as its' requirements, "essential support from the right national economic and social policies and institution." Gains are unevenly distributed credit to the lack of an 'even playing field. Child labor problems and violations are common knowledge as being activity in developing countries. Child labor, forced labor and discrimination are those needing elimination. Barriers to the individuals of developing countries are factors of low educational attainment and low level of skills. The wage differentials between workers who are skilled and/or educated and workers who are not skilled and/or educated are growing larger. The overall lack of technical skills and information technology skills is specifically noted as a factor in developing countries. Trade liberalization and other economic reform programmes tend to be sensitive to their likely social impact. Specifically mentioned were the price changes on the poor, of the possible destruction of markets important to poor producers.

Another factor affecting the poor Third-world developing countries is the destruction of forests taking place. Stated in the work entitled, "The Causes of Tropical Deforestation" Revington (1991) is that, "An examination of forest destruction on a regional basis reveals that this is not so. In fact it is large companies and the inequities of international trade which are the root causes of rainforest destruction." Consider the following facts:(1)M millions of hectares of primary rainforests are being destroyed in South East Asia by logging, and the driving force in this industry is not the local population but international demand for timber; (2) in Central America, 40% of all the rainforests have been cleared or burned down in the last 40 years, mostly for cattle pasture to feed the export market; (3) "Latin American environment groups have cited skewed land distribution as the most important factor frustrating the conservation and sustainable use of rainforest areas; and (4) the economic exploitation of poorer countries by the world's industrialized nations underlines much of the over-exploitation of tropical ecosystems by populations without land or employment.

This inevitably calls for reform in relation to both bilateral and multilateral aid policies as well as practices in world trade if there is any hope of saving the tropical rainforest regions which lead to the topic of the debts owed by these countries. Third World Debt will have to be dealt with in view of the collective debt that exceed the sum of $1,300 billion (U.S. Dollars) and interest charges totaling $123.4 billion (U.S. dollars) the impoverishment of the Third World makes the rich get even richer and this has fed a perpetual cycle expressed in loans financing projects that are not only destructive to the environment but can be repaid through more exploitations of resources and from that it is clearly seen that the Third World Debt crisis has propelled destruction of the environment in Third World countries. Incidentally the largest rainforest areas are five countries that are among the most heavily indebted countries in the world putting them under extreme pressure to harvest their rainforests for repaying debts.