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GLOBALISATION - 1st Lesson

Globalisation refers to increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres. Globalization is an umbrella term and is perhaps best understood as a unitary process inclusive of many sub-processes (such as enhanced economic interdependence, increased cultural influence, rapid advances of information technology, and novel governance and geopolitical challenges) that are increasingly binding people and the biosphere more tightly into one global system.

There are several definitions and all usually mention the increasing connectivity of economies and ways of life across the world. The Encyclopedia Britannica says that globalization is the "process by which the experience of everyday life ... is becoming standardized around the world." While some scholars and observers of globalization stress convergence of patterns of production and consumption and a resulting homogenization of culture, others stress that globalization has the potential to take many diverse forms.

In economics, globalization is the convergence of prices, products, wages, rates of interest and profits towards developed country norms. Globalization of the economy depends on the role of human migration, international trade, movement of capital, and integration of financial markets. The International Monetary Fund notes the growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions, free international capital flows, and more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology. Theodore Levitt is usually credited with globalization's first use in an economic context.

Trends

Globalization has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways such as:

Industrial (alias trans nationalization) - emergence of worldwide production markets and broader access to a range of goods for consumers and companies

Financial - emergence of worldwide financial markets and better access to external financing for corporate, national and sub national borrowers

Economic - realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital.

Political - Political globalization is the creation of a world government which regulates the relationships among nations and guarantees the rights arising from social and economic globalization

Informational - increase in information flows between geographically remote locations

Cultural - growth of cross-cultural contacts; advent of new categories of consciousness and identities such as Globalism - which embodies cultural diffusion, the desire to consume and enjoy foreign products and ideas, adopt new technology and practices, and participate in a "world culture".

Ecological- the advent of global environmental challenges that can not be solved without international cooperation, such as climate change, cross-boundary water and air pollution, over-fishing of the ocean, and the spread of invasive species.
Social - the achievement of free circulation by people of all nations

Greater international cultural exchange

Spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity (e.g. through the export of Hollywood and Bollywood movies). However, the imported culture can easily supplant the local culture, causing reduction in diversity through hybridization or even assimilation. The most prominent form of this is Westernization, but Sanitization of cultures has taken place over most of Asia for many centuries.

Greater international travel and tourism

Greater immigration, including illegal immigration

Spread of local consumer products (e.g. food) to other countries (often adapted to their culture)

World-wide fads and pop culture such as Pokémon, Sudoku, Numa Numa, Origami, Idol series, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace.

World-wide sporting events such as FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games

Formation or development of a set of universal values

Technical/legal

Development of a global telecommunications infrastructure and greater transborder data flow, using such technologies as the Internet, communication satellites, submarine fiber optic cable, and wireless telephones

Increase in the number of standards applied globally; e.g. copyright laws, patents and world trade agreements.

The push by many advocates for an international criminal court and international justice movements.

Since World War II, barriers to international trade have been considerably lowered through international agreements - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Particular initiatives carried out as a result of GATT and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), for which GATT is the foundation, has included:

Promotion of free trade

Reduction or elimination of tariffs; construction of free trade zones with small or no tariffs

Reduced transportation costs, especially from development of containerization for ocean shipping.

Reduction or elimination of capital controls

Reduction, elimination, or harmonization of subsidies for local businesses

Intellectual property restrictions

Harmonization of intellectual property laws across the majority of nations, with more restrictions.

Supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions (e.g. patents granted by China would be recognized in the United States)

Globalization can also be defined as the internationalization of everything related to different countries. (Source: Wikipedia)

THE ROLE OF INFLATION IN THE ECONOMY - 2nd Lesson

In the long run, inflation is generally believed to be a monetary phenomenon, while in the short and medium term; it is influenced by the relative elasticity of wages, prices and interest rates. The question of whether the short-term effects last long enough to be important is the central topic of debate between monetarist and Keynesian schools. In monetarism, prices and wages adjust quickly enough to make other factors merely marginal behavior on a general trendline. In the Keynesian view, prices and wages adjust at different rates, and these differences have enough effects on real output to be "long term" in the view of people in an economy.

A great deal of economic literature concerns the question of what causes inflation and what effect it has. A small amount of inflation is often viewed as having a positive effect on the economy. One reason for this is that it is difficult to renegotiate some prices, and particularly wages, downwards, so that with generally increasing prices it is easier for relative prices to adjust. Many prices are "sticky downward" and tend to creep upward, so that efforts to attain a zero inflation rate (a constant price level) punish other sectors with falling prices, profits, and employment. Efforts to attain complete price stability can also lead to deflation, which is generally viewed as a negative outcome because of the significant downward adjustments in wages and output that are associated with it.

Inflation is also viewed as a hidden risk pressure that provides an incentive for those with savings to invest them, rather than have the purchasing power of those savings erode through inflation. In investing, inflation risks often cause investors to take on more systematic risk, in order to gain returns that will stay ahead of expected inflation. Inflation is also used as an index for cost of living adjustments and as a peg for some bonds. In effect, inflation is the rate at which previous economic transactions are discounted economically.

Inflation also gives central banks room to maneuver, since their primary tool for controlling the money supply and velocity of money is by setting the lowest interest rate in an economy - the discount rate at which banks can borrow from the central bank. Since borrowing at negative interest is generally ineffective, a positive inflation rate gives central bankers "ammunition", as it is sometimes called, to stimulate the economy.

However, in general, inflation rates above the nominal amounts required to give monetary freedom, and investing incentive, are regarded as negative, particularly because in current economic theory, inflation begets further inflationary expectations.

Increasing uncertainty may discourage investment and saving.

Redistribution
It will redistribute income from those on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, and shifts it to those who draw a variable income, for example from wages and profits which may keep pace with inflation.

Similarly it will redistribute wealth from those who lend a fixed amount of money to those who borrow. For example, where the government is a net debtor, as is usually the case, it will reduce this debt redistributing money towards the government. Thus inflation is sometimes viewed as similar to a hidden tax.

International trade: If the rate of inflation is higher than that abroad, a fixed exchange rate will be undermined through a weakening balance of trade.

Shoe leather costs: Because the value of cash is eroded by inflation, people will tend to hold less cash during times of inflation. This imposes real costs, for example in more frequent trips to the bank. (The term is a humorous reference to the cost of replacing shoe leather worn out when walking to the bank.)

Menu costs: Firms must change their prices more frequently, which imposes costs, for example with restaurants having to reprint menus.

Relative Price Distortions: Firms do not generally synchronize adjustment in prices. If there is higher inflation, firms that do not adjust their prices will have much lower prices relative to firms that do adjust them. This will distort economic decisions, since relative prices will not be reflecting relative scarcity of different goods.

Hyperinflation: if inflation gets totally out of control (in the upward direction), it can grossly interfere with the normal workings of the economy, hurting its ability to supply.

Inflation tax when a government can improve its net financial position by allowing inflation, then this represents a tax on certain holders of currency. Governments may decide to use this "stealth tax" in order to avoid hard fiscal decisions to cut expenditures, raise taxes, or confront government unions with greater efficiency.

Bracket Creep is related to the inflation tax. By allowing inflation to move upwards, certain sticky aspects of the tax code are met by more and more people. Commonly income tax brackets, where the next dollar of income is taxed at a higher rate than previous dollars. Governments that allow inflation to "bump" people over these thresholds are, in effect, allowing a tax increase because the same real purchasing power is being taxed at a higher rate.

As noted, some economists see moderate inflation as a benefit; some business executives see mild inflation as "greasing the wheels of commerce." A very few economists have advocated reducing inflation to zero as a monetary policy goal - particularly in the late 1990s at the end of a long disinflationary period, when the policy seemed within reach.

INFLATION: WHAT IS INFLATION? - 1st Lesson

Inflation is the rate of increase in the level of prices for goods and services.

The value of a currency does not stay constant when there is inflation. The value of a currency is observed in terms of purchasing power, which is the real, tangible goods that money can buy. When inflation goes up, there is a decline in the purchasing power of money. For example, if the inflation rate is 2% annually, then theoretically a $1 pack of gum will cost $1.02 in a year. After inflation, your $1 can't buy the same goods it could beforehand. There are several variations on inflation:
Deflation is when the general level of prices is falling. This is the opposite of inflation.
Hyperinflation is unusually rapid inflation. In extreme cases, this can lead to the breakdown of a nation's monetary system. One of the most notable examples of hyperinflation occurred in Germany in 1923, when prices rose 2,500% in one month!

Stagflation is the combination of high unemployment and economic stagnation with inflation. This happened in industrialized countries during the 1970s, when a bad economy was combined with OPEC raising oil prices.

In recent years, most developed countries have attempted to sustain an inflation rate of 2-3%. Causes of Inflation Economists wake up in the morning hoping for a chance to debate the causes of inflation. There is no one cause that's universally agreed upon, but at least two theories are generally accepted: Demand-Pull Inflation - This theory can be summarized as "too much money chasing too few goods". In other words, if demand is growing faster than supply, prices will increase. This usually occurs in growing economies. Cost-Push Inflation - When companies' costs go up, they need to increase prices to maintain their profit margins. Increased costs can include things such as wages, taxes, or increased costs of imports. Costs of Inflation Almost everyone thinks inflation is evil, but it isn't necessarily so. Inflation affects different people in different ways. It also depends on whether inflation is anticipated or unanticipated. If the inflation rate corresponds to what the majority of people are expecting (anticipated inflation), then we can compensate and the cost isn't high. For example, banks can vary their interest rates and workers can negotiate contracts that include automatic wage hikes as the price level goes up.

Problems arise when there is unanticipated inflation:
Creditors lose and debtors gain if the lender does not anticipate inflation correctly. For those who borrow, this is similar to getting an interest-free loan.

Uncertainty about what will happen next makes corporations and consumers less likely to spend. This hurts economic output in the long run.

People living off a fixed-income, such as retirees, see a decline in their purchasing power and, consequently, their standard of living.

The entire economy must absorb re-pricing costs ("menu costs") as price lists, labels, menus and more have to be updated.

If the inflation rate is greater than that of other countries, domestic products become less competitive.

People like to complain about prices going up, but they often ignore the fact that wages should be rising as well. The question shouldn't be whether inflation is rising, but whether it's rising at a quicker pace than your wages. Finally, inflation is a sign that an economy is growing. In some situations, little inflation (or even deflation) can be just as bad as high inflation.

The lack of inflation may be an indication that the economy is weakening. As you can see, it's not so easy to label inflation as either good or bad - it depends on the overall economy as well as your personal situation. (Main Source: Investopedia)