ABSTRACT
During the past decade much has been written, from a variety of fields and perspectives, on globalization and its glories and discontents. Rapid changes resulting from the increasingly internationalized areas of production, finance, and trade, coupled with parallel technological, social, political, and cultural shifts, require continuous study and practical understandings. Certainly, the degree of globalization is not homogeneous across these areas or within and between regions and nation-states. For example, financial markets are most globalized and have been leading other sectors in the same direction. Multinational corporations (MNCs) have been instrumental in globalizing production, investments, and trade in goods and services. The G7 countries have played key roles, not only as home to most MNCs, but also in the creation of regional and international institutions and regulatory agreements that foster economic and political integration within and across countries. In particular, the so-called AngloSaxon model of neoliberal policies has set the tone for the emphasis on free markets and the promotion of the Washington Consensus in the developing world.
