Advantages and disadvantages of globalization

Globalization has its origins in the first colonizations at the end of the 15th century. Its purpose is to promote the development of Nations. Nevertheless, political climates in Europe and the United States have shown that opinions are divided as to its consequences. In this article, you will learn about the pros and cons of globalization.

Importance of globalization

One of the most important positive consequences of globalization is the improvement and the considerable improvement of the standard of living in the developing countries. According to the World Bank, extreme poverty has fallen by 35% since 1990. In these countries, they also had access to considerable technological improvements without knowing the difficulties encountered by the developed countries in their time. For example, developing African countries did not have an extensive fixed telephone network before mobile telephony entered the market.

More creativity and innovation

Global competition can encourage creativity and innovation, allowing companies to gain an edge over competitors.

Lowering the costs of goods and services

Lower costs allow citizens of both developed and developing countries to live better with less money.

Cultural mixing

Globalization has also facilitated access to the culture of other countries, including cuisine, cinema, music and art.

Disadvantages of globalization

Offshoring of jobs

One of the most frequent criticisms of the globalization of trade is that it leads to the relocation of jobs, especially industrial jobs, from developed countries to developing countries.

The hegemony of the countries of the North

Globalization has favored the hegemony of the countries of the north. For example, some of the aid the developed world seeks to provide to developing countries tends to increase poverty rather than reduce it.

Loss of cultural identity

Of course, globalization favors access to foreign cultures, but it also tends to merge cultures with one another.