ABSTRACT
Two key aspects of economic globalization – the growth of international trade and direct investment as shares of economic production – have been fostered primarily by neoliberal public policy changes, often in the form of new international agreements. Existing research has identified two main actors driving these free market policy shifts: political and economic elites. In other words, the circumstances, preferences, and behaviours of elected politicians, unelected rulers, bureaucrats, and the owners and top managers of private firms have figured large in explanations of the recent rise of globalization and neoliberal international agreements.
