the most controversial aspects of globalization

the most controversial aspects of globalization

Question
Globalization 2000 Spring 2016: Assignment 4

Globalization and International Trade
One of the most controversial aspects of globalization centers on the issue of international
trade. In fact, some of the most significant anti-globalization protests, like those in Seattle
against the WTO in 1999, were directly related to increased worldwide trade. However, there is
more to economic globalization than trade alone, including foreign direct investment volumes,
currency, trade and regulation, the significance of trade in the national economy, etc. All of
these are measures of economic globalization. In this exercise you will go onto the Internet to
look up some data on economic globalization, and you will see how various countries compare
with each other in terms of this index. You will also use another database to investigate the
structure of a country’s international trade.
Before starting the assignment, each student must pick a primary country for their
analysis that has data for all the measures discussed below. Be sure to check this before
you start writing. To ensure some breadth in the geographic coverage of the analyses,
students must choose a country listed within the groups shown below. If your last name begins
with the letters in that group, each student must pick a country that also begins with those
letters. The groups are:
A-C
D–L
M–P
Q–Z
You will also need to choose two other countries for comparison with your primary country.
One country should be from the same region or continent, and the other country should be
more/less developed. So, if you chose Tanzania for example, get another country from Africa.
Also choose another country (in or out of Africa) that is a developed nation.
Part 1. Degree of Globalization
Go to the following web page to examine various aspects of trade and global competitiveness.
http://globalization.kof.ethz.ch/
From that website, go to the links at the right hand portion of the page and click on Detailed
Rankings for 2015. This will open a pdf document of the rankings of each country based on
the Economic, Social and Political Indices of Globalization, as well as a single combined Index
of Globalization. For this exercise we will focus only on the Economic Globalization Index.
To familiarize yourself with what variables go into the index, click on the Definitions and
Sources and Variables and Weights pdfs also located in the upper right hand corner of the
web page.
To obtain some idea of what is leading to a high or low index and ranking, we can break down
the overall Economic Globalization Index a bit. To do this, go to the Query the KOF Index of
Globalization subheading on the home page shown above. Underneath that, click on the
following link: Detailed Data from the KOF Index of Globalization
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Globalization 2000 Spring 2016: Assignment 4

From this page you can pick out the two individual indices on Actual Flows and Restrictions,
that when averaged, form the overall Economic Globalization Index. See the Definition and
Sources file for information on these indices. Choose the two indices, the three countries you
are analyzing (you can pick individual countries), for the most recent year available, and then
click Display Data. Stick with the table format.
Depending on how high or low these indices are, and comparing them to other countries,
especially the two additional countries you chose above, you might be able to determine what
is most affecting the overall Economic Globalization Index. However, note that the indices are
missing for some countries, so if needed, choose another country. Be sure to make a note of
the sub-index you think is most affecting the overall Economic Globalization Index—you will
use this information in your write-up.
On the data sheet provided (last page of handout), go ahead and list the measures (indices
and ranks only!!) discussed above with respect to your country, plus the other two chosen
for comparison purposes. Do not print out any of the data tables off the web!
Part 2. Structure of International Trade
The structure of a country’s trade is important, especially in terms of its ability to compete in
the global marketplace. The structure also tells you how vulnerable a country is to economic
volatility and ups and downs in the value of exports. For example, a country that relies on fuel
exports (e.g., Venezuela)—as opposed to services (e.g., USA)—would be severely hurt by a
drop in oil prices. To obtain some data that permits an analysis of this situation, go to the
following World Trade Organization web site
http://stat.wto.org/CountryProfile/WSDBCountryPFHome.aspx?Language=E
Click on the 1. Selection button at the upper left part of the page. Go ahead and choose your
country and Add it to the right hand column, along with the other two countries you used
above for comparison. Finally, click on Continue > (lower right of selection area) to get your 3
reports. From each one of these country reports, look for information on share of total world
Merchandise exports and Commercial Service exports (in percentages). Also, look for
information on the distribution of merchandise exports, broken into the percentage of exports
that is Agriculture, Fuel, or Manufacturing. Note that the sample report for Algeria included
with the exercise highlights the data needed by circling the required data values. (Note:
Although the sample report is for 2008, the data sheets are still structured the same way for the
recent year.) On the data sheet provided (last page of handout), go ahead and list all the
values/percentages discussed above for all 3 countries. Do not print out the data sheets off
the web!

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Globalization 2000 Spring 2016: Assignment 4

Name:
Enter all the data requested below, and hand in this single sheet with the other parts of your
assignment.
Part 1. Economic Globalization Index
Go ahead and list the Economic Globalization Index and Ranking of your country and the
two other countries you chose:
Country
Chosen Country

Name

Index

Rank

Additional Country same
region/continent
Additional Country less/more developed
Year of Data

Actual Flows and Restrictions

Country
Chosen Country

Name

Actua
l
Flows

Restrictio
ns

Additional Country same
region/continent
Additional Country less/more
developed
Year of Data

3

Globalization 2000 Spring 2016: Assignment 4

4

Globalization 2000 Spring 2016: Assignment 4

Part 2. Structure of International Trade
Country
____________

______________

_____________

Distribution of Trade
Exports
Commercial Services
Trade: Share in world
total exports
Merchandise Trade: Share
in world total exports
Breakdown of
Merchandise Exports in
%
Agricultural Products
Fuels/Mining Products
Manufactures

Part 3. Write-up on International Trade and Globalization
In a short write-up (typed) of no more than 500 words, summarize how your country does in
terms of world exports. Address the following question:
• Looking at the WTO data, what is the structure of your country’s exports, and how does it
compare to the other two countries you chose? Does your country rely on low or high value
exports? (Services versus Manufactured goods versus Agriculture and Mining goods)?
Be sure to include the following items in your assignment when you hand it in:
1. The write-up should be typed. (500 words limit)
2. Detached data sheet only with trade information from KOF and World Trade Organization
(rip off the data sheet on next page from the rest of this exercise). Staple it to the write-up.

5

March 2011
Algeria

BASIC INDICATORS
Population (thousands, 2009)
GDP (million current US$, 2009)
GDP (million current PPP US$, 2009)
Current account balance (million US$, 2009)
Trade per capita (US$, 20072009)
Trade to GDP ratio (2007-2009)

34 895
140 577
285 182
402

Rank in world trade, 2009
Merchandise
excluding intra-EU trade
Commercial services

Exports
47
32
78

Imports
50
32
49

3 135
72.3

excluding intra-EU trade

52

32

2009
139
116
207

Real GDP (2000=100)
Exports of goods and services (volume, 2000=100)
Imports of goods and services (volume, 2000=100)

2000-2009
4
2
8

Annual percentage change
2008
2
2
7

2009
2
-3
17

TRADE POLICY
WTO accession
Trade Policy Review
GPA accession
Tariffs and duty free imports
Tariff binding coverage (%)
MFN tariffs
Simple average of import duties
All goods
Agricultural goods (AOA)
Non-agricultural goods
Non ad-valorem duties (% total tariff lines)
MFN duty free imports (%, 2008)
in agricultural goods (AOA)
in non-agricultural goods
Services sectors with GATS commitments
MERCHANDISE TRADE

Observer
Final bound
–

Applied 2009
18.6
23.3
17.8
0.0
12.6
1.7
Value

Merchandise exports, f.o.b. (million US$)
Merchandise imports, c.i.f. (million US$)

2009
45 194
39 294

Share in world total exports

2009
0.36

Breakdown in economy’s total exports
By main commodity group (ITS)
Agricultural products
Fuels and mining products
Manufacture
By main destination
1. European Union (27)
2. United States
3. Canada
4. Turkey
5. Brazil

Contribution to WTO budget
Import duties collected (%, 2007-2009)
in total tax revenue
to total imports
Number of notifications to WTO and measures in force
Outstanding notifications in WTO Central Registry
Goods RTAs – services EIAs notified to WTO
Anti-dumping
Countervailing duties
Safeguards
Number of disputes (complainant – defendant)
Requests for consultation
Original panel / Appellate Body (AB) reports
Compliance panel / AB reports (Article 21.5 DSU)
Arbitration awards (Article 22.6 DSU)

0.3
98.8
0.9
51.3
22.9
5.4
4.4
3.2

3.7
4.9
3-0
–

Annual percentage change
2000-2009
8
18

Share in world total imports
Breakdown in economy’s total imports
By main commodity group (ITS)
Agricultural products
Fuels and mining products
Manufactures
By main origin
1. European Union (27)
2. China
3. United States
4. Turkey
5. Japan

2008
32
43

2009
-43
0
2009
0.31

17.8
2.4
79.7
52.4
12.1
5.1
4.4
3.0

COMMERCIAL SERVICES TRADE

Share in world total exports
Breakdown in economy’s total exports
By principal services item
Transportation
Travel
Other commercial services

2000-2009
13
19

2009
0.08

Commercial services exports (million US$)
Commercial services imports (million US$)

Value
2009
2 794
11 203

Annual percentage change
2008
23
65

Share in world total imports

27.6
9.6
62.9

Breakdown in economy’s total imports
By principal services item
Transportation
Travel
Other commercial services

2009
-18
7
2009
0.35

26.3
4.1
69.6

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
Patent grants by patent office, 2007
Residents
…

Non-residents
…

Trademark registrations by office, 2009
Total
214

Direct residents
…

Direct non-residents
…

Madrid
1 976

Total
1 976