-
The pace and scale of today’s globalisation is without precedent and is associated with the rapid emergence of global value chains as production processes become more geographically fragmented. Globalisation also increasingly involves foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade in services, as many service activities become internationalised. Another distinctive feature is that the current phase of globalisation is not restricted to OECD countries, but also involves large emerging global players such as China, India, Brazil and Russia.
-
This chapter discusses the driving forces behind economic integration and shows that, although the process of globalisation started decades ago, in its current form globalisation displays some distinctive features, in particular the emergence of global value chains, the key role of multinational enterprises, the increasing outsourcing/offshoring of services and the rapid integration of large countries such as China and India.
-
This chapter offers a broad range of empirical evidence which shows the increasingly global integration of OECD countries and discusses the economic importance of emerging countries. New evidence based on input-output tables is developed to demonstrate global linkages among countries. In an analysis of differences among industries, the increasing outsourcing/offshoring of services is discussed. The chapter also highlights the key role of multinational enterprises in the current globalisation.
-
This chapter discusses the costs and benefits of economic globalisation for OECD countries. Because of the diversity of the effects of globalisation and the complexity of analysing them, the discussion centres on the employment and productivity effects of globalisation. Based on empirical evidence, short-term losses in employment are weighed against more long-term effects on productivity as well as employment. The chapter specifically discusses the impact multinational enterprises may have given their key role in the current phase of globalisation.
-
This chapter discusses the impact of globalisation on the competitiveness of OECD countries by analysing the evolution of comparative advantages of individual countries as well as on de-industrialisation in developed countries. Empirical evidence is used to assess how rapidly OECD countries are moving up the value chain and shift to more knowledge-intensive activities. But this structural process seems to be taking place not only in OECD countries, as China is also moving up the value chain. The extent of the upgrading of the Chinese economy is examined, together with China’s importance in the increasing internationalisation of R&D.
-
This chapter identifies the most important policy challenges for OECD countries in today’s global economy. It discusses the need for a powerful innovation strategy in order to move up the value chain, as well as the accompanying measures that can soften the inevitable adjustment costs of globalisation.
-