Measuring Globalisation: OECD Economic Globalisation Indicators 2010
This second edition of the OECD Economic Globalisation Indicators presents a broad range of indicators showing the magnitude and intensity of globalisation. This process is becoming increasingly important for policymakers and other analysts, hence the need for a volume that brings together the existing measures, based on national data sources and comparable across countries. Together, the indicators shed new light on financial, technological and trade interdependencies within OECD and non-OECD countries.
Measures of globalisation include indicators on capital movements and foreign direct investments, international trade, the economic activity of multinational firms and the internationalisation of technology. In addition, the 2010 edition also includes indicators linked to the current financial crisis, portfolio investments, environmental aspects and the emergence of global value chains.
Impact of the crisis on international trade
The decline in international trade in 2008 triggered by the crisis has been the deepest decline on record, much deeper than during the Great Depression. The fact that the downturn was steeper in terms of value than of volume suggests that a “price effect” also played a part in some countries. The scale of the decline reflects the increasing interdependence of trade, which can accelerate the spread of cyclical effects. Hence, the recession caused by the crisis intensified the drop in world trade, which resulted from the concurrent decline of trade flows in almost every country of the world.