What is "Globalization"? What is the connection between globalization and social policy? Section one of this essay begins by discussing three different meanings of the term "globalization", while subsequent sections explore the implications of those differing conceptions for the analysis of globalization's impacts. For many economists, "globalization" is to be seen mainly as greater openness to international trade in goods. Section two therefore discusses the extent of current divergences in social policy among nations which are heavily dependent on trade, and argues that substantial heterogeneity in social policy can, in general, coexist with high levels of merchandise trade dependence. However, in both trade and social policy, "the devil is in the details". Section three considers the political economy perspective that argues that trade between nations always happens within a specific institutional context of international agreements, and a specific balance of international power. The language of particular trade treaties, the case law of interpretive rulings that builds up over time and the balance of power that nations actually have in enforcing adherence to such rulings, will, to a greater or lesser degree, affect the room that governments have to implement divergent policies. Hence, from a political economy perspective, the WTO represents a major change in world governance, with potentially large implications for social policy (particularly "active" social policy) and disturbing questions for the democratic legitimacy of national governments. Section four suggests that both the economist's conceptualization of globalization as "greater merchandise trade dependence" and the political economy perspective of increasing commonality of economic regulation are perhaps a bit narrow. From a socio-cultural perspective, the explosive growth of international travel, the penetration of multinational marketing and cultural products to every corner of the globe and the dramatic and ubiquitous development of global information access through the Internet may be some of the most important long run channels of a "Globalization of Culture". If globalization produces cultural changes which change the demands which citizens make of their governments, the long run implications for social policy may be quite profound. The essay concludes with a brief discussion of the logical and practical relationships between these three conceptions of globalization.
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Paper provided by Institute for Social and Economic Research in its series ISER working papers with number
2002-09.
Length: 34 Date of creation: 29 May 2002 Date of revision: Publication status: published Handle: RePEc:ese:iserwp:2002-09
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