ABSTRACT
The strongest evidence of globalization is the increase in trade and movement of capital during the latter half of the twentieth century. Between 1950 and 2001, world exports increased by twenty times, and the rate of increase accelerated after the end of the Cold War. The main drivers of globalization are the declining trade and investment barriers as well as advances in communication, transportation, and information technologies. The costs of communication have fallen dramatically. Cell phones, fax, and Internet unite people throughout the world for pennies or fractions of pennies. Information technology has had similar effects on the speed and cost of processing global business orders. Fast, worldwide transportation is available by either airplane or containerships, and the percentage that transportation costs play in the pricing of a product has declined. As a result, many daily items used by consumers around the world are produced in distant locales-our clothes, food, and cars.2
