Hi my name is Sebastian hamsch I have chosen to write about the globalisation in Sweden during the 20: th century. I will focus in the economy and how it has changed from being a closed economy to become an open and competitive economy without national borders. What we have seen in Sweden during the last 20 years is a big industrial move to cheaper and more productive countries. In change we have got an industry that focus more in good service and new technique. With help from the book:
Eklund, Klas 2005, VÅR EKONOMI En introduktion till samhällsekonomi.
I am going to try to find out which effects the globalisation has had on the Swedish society and if it has become better or worse for the Swedish citizens. Klas focus on the Swedish education system and criticises it saying that Sweden need more high educated people and are behind big parts of Europe when it comes to this. He means that to become a strong and powerful part of the globalisation Sweden needs to put more efforts and focus in higher education like the university studies for example. I think that the biggest different now a days is the industrial situation where Sweden has lost thousands of jobs to countries with cheaper labour. Instead of old industrial jobs Sweden has changed into a country full of services and a high technology industry with fewer workers and more machines. What I am going to do with this work is to try to find out if Sweden has it better to day or if it has become worse.
I'm Giancarlo. I'm interested in the economical and social situation and the effects of globalisation in Sweden, especially because I don't know much about it, but now I'd like to make some considerations about globalisation in general referring to the Italian situation that is better known to me.
I'm going to link to the point you've drawn attention to, that is if things are better nowadays or before; it is a central point of discussion in most part of sociological, economical and political literature of the last years.
We often heard about positive or negative aspects of globalisation, while at present many analyses are rightly – in my opinion – considering both at the same time. Infact I think that these are two faces of the same medal, in my opinion globalisation is not completely good or bad in itself, probably the problem changes in relation to the quality and quantity of its impact to different societies and to how social, political and economical actors are able to manage it.
The so-called 'economical globalisation' is something that has to be observed from three different levels – international, national and local - at the same time; favouring the exchange of goods, services, people and information beyond national borders, it has in fact highlighted and strengthened the role of various regions and local realities among national and international economical scenarios making local systems meet but also compete among themselves.
Obviously this can be a good or a bad thing, it depends on to the starting conditions of the regions involved and their capacity to react to external imputs. Active and dynamic countries are able to react and take advantage of this while this increase of scale could be seriously damaging for others, I'm thinking either about less developed regions located in rich and industrialized countries or poor countries in the world that see their suffering increase. There are many reasons that make convergence processes not easy to achieve, favouring, at the contrary, a dangerous divergence process from the richest areas.
Relatively to the Italian situation, the change of these last years has pointed out different problems: the necessity to change our industrial systems, too 'traditional', to make innovation and to make important investments, not only in industry or infrastructures but also in formation, a fundamental thing in the nowadays 'knowledge economy' - we are staying behind in this sense and we are realizing that we are going to suffer for this -. But it also made us look at economy from another point of view, underlining the importance of regions and local systems, territory is seen as the basis of our 'real' economies and this made us rediscover some fundamental parts of our society and economy, such as all the social actors, precious environmental and artistic resources, traditional productions to protect and so on.
However the question is not only economical and there are many big problems to face. Some social problems, for example I'm thinking about positive and negative aspects of having 'a country full of services and a high technology industry with fewer workers and more machines', as you say; ecological problems (caused by increased consumptions and more pollution) that impact differently various regions in the world; cultural problems, in order to mantain, for example, peculiar characteristics of many little societies' traditions and cultures in a world that tends to homogenize.
Hi, I'm Diego. I will expose the point of view of a student that's not an expert of economy, but that is only seeing the effect of this economic policy.
The effects of globalisation in Italy are the same as Sweden and all industrialized countries. For Italians the problem is about the 2 phase of industrial activity: production and selling. The production is moved to the countries of Third World where workers are cheaper and selling takes place in our countries expensively. All these are advantage for business men. But, in my opinion, there aren’t advantage for any other. The third world doesn’t receive any help for progressing. Industrialized countries’ workers are replaced by cheaper and preyed upon workers. This economic policy would be positive if all countries were industrialized all the same level... But, nowadays, it's impossible.
In responce to Sebastian: Hi Sebastian! I'm Elisa, a phd student at the Agrarian faculty in Pisa. I don't know very much about globalisation, because I ever have not expanded my personal culture about this topic. I don't know which consequences globalisation carries to big powers like China, or for example Russia, but I really can see that consequences that can be caused to our little realities. As you know, Italy is a place abundant in local products; every region has many typical products, both food and handmade ones. To make an example, in Sardinia island, farm-workers produce many cheeses, many types of bread, and so on.. and these peasantries live selling their products to fellow countrymans and foreigners. Even in the islands near Venice, craftsmans live selling carnival masks and beautiful laces. You know that Italy has an economy based on tourism; for this reason typical and local products are very important. So, globalisation improves the production of these products by industries, it brings to their prices reduction and the consequence is that foreigners but even Italian citizens buy the industries-made products to economize. But these products have a low quality respect to the original ones, and craftmans and farm-workers became unable to sell their creations. Another example that I can explain, (but it is not about Italy), is that Afghanistan farmers are forsed by Monsanto multinatinal to buy OGM seeds. These seeds are called TERMINATOR, because after the growth of the plants, seeds produced by OGM plants are not able to generate other plants. So, Afghanistan farmers (that can't sow their normal seeds)are forsed to buy Monsanto TERMINATOR seeds again and again. I hope next time I'll have a broad-spectrum opinion about globalisation, to better confront myself with you! Have a nice day! Elisa
I'm Stefan. I normally live in Brussels, but I also spend a week or two every month with my family in the small village of Sigtuna, just north of Stockholm.
I decided to write about globalisation because I think it is a subject which is affecting our every day lives. If you are in Italy, Belgium or Sweden, it doesn't matter: you can relate to globalisation in one way or another.
Our task at Mid Sweden University is rather limited. Our essay should be about two pages. I have a degree in economics, but first and foremost, I am interested in other people's opinion about globalisation (rather than explaining comparative advantages etc.).
Here is the introduction to my essay:
"Globalisation – pros and cons
Many companies in industrialised countries shut down local production facilities, relocate their production to countries with lower wages in order to sell the final product at home to a lower price. The provision of services is also being transferred to call-centres in low cost countries. High streets around Europe resemble each other more and more when the same multinational companies dominate the markets. Welcome to a globalised world!
This essay aims to deal with the following questions:
- Does globalisation mean that some people lose while others win?
- Was it better before, when the consumer could choose between local companies only?
- How do different actors around the world react to globalisation?"
I would appreciate all comments, especially as regards the questions "Was it better before..." and "How do different actors react...". How do you react??
Some examples:
If you call Scandinavian airlines (SAS) to book an airline ticket, you dial a local number but end up talking to a salesperson in Estonia. I live half of my life in Belgium and when I call my local bank in Brussels, someone in Barcelona takes the call. Being Swedish, it is rather impossible to get this job unless I want to move to either Estonia or Spain. BUT as a customer, I prefer low prices (flying cheap and banking without fees)!
On the other hand: Until quite "recently" (I was born in 1966) you would only encounter "undrinkable" Swedish filter coffee in town when you met up with your friends. Nowadays you can easily order a "Light Cinnamon Latte" at Starbucks or any other coffee shop following the same coffee trend. Hourray for the arrival of Starbucks, yes?
Looking forward to your comments! Please feel free to give your own local examples!
Hi all My name is Lina and I want to post a comment in response to the whole blog (in general concerning “Globalization”. Globalization is today a buzzword frequently used around the world it is almost as commonly used as the popular topic describing our environmental issues. Everybody on a national and international level in the political and economical community is talking about globalization. Everybody has a theory on what globalization is, to try and describe globalization as a phenomenon is a rather complex thing to do. I agree with Giancarlo in common that it is crucial to observe globalization from different levels and areas. If you want a fair chance to get it right you really must consider the starting point you chose in trying to describe what globalization is. Have a nice evening /Lina
Hi Diego I want to thank you for your feedback and your thoughts and I agree with you when it comes to the industrial move that we are have seen during the last 15 years. I don’t know exactly how many Swedish companies that have moved there industry to other cheaper countries but it’s a lot for sure. If it is a problem I can’t say. In Sweden now days we have a labour market that is working good with more high education jobs. What we have seen during the last 15 years is a change from old traditional industrial jobs to a labour market that benefit in first hand people with education. What I want to say is that we in Sweden have more or less the same amount of jobs as we had some years ago the differences today is that this new jobs pay better. When I look at the globalisation this way I see us in Sweden as winners and for example Poland a country with a lot of ours old industrial jobs as a winner as well. Off course this jobs doesn’t pay as good as they did ones in Sweden but maybe in some years we will reach the same level. Another good thing with the globalisation is that we have the opportunity to study together with you guys from Italy in a blog over Internet. I look at the future with hope and faith.
I think that all people can talk about Globalisation, because it is present everywhere!! Certainly, it has positive and negative aspects and it regards capital market, policy and culture. In the last years often we listen in on radio or TV news about far countries, such as USA, China ext, and what happened in those countries has some consequences in ours political or economical situation. Globalisation improves knowleged of differet realities of the world, for example we know terrible situation of Tibet! At the same time it develops capital markets, but without rules, so differences between North and South world increase. Globalisation isn’t a negative reality of ours time, but we must drive it in a correct way, based on respect of people and true competition.
8 comments:
Hi my name is Sebastian hamsch I have chosen to write about the globalisation in Sweden during the 20: th century. I will focus in the economy and how it has changed from being a closed economy to become an open and competitive economy without national borders. What we have seen in Sweden during the last 20 years is a big industrial move to cheaper and more productive countries. In change we have got an industry that focus more in good service and new technique. With help from the book:
Eklund, Klas 2005, VÅR EKONOMI En introduktion till samhällsekonomi.
I am going to try to find out which effects the globalisation has had on the Swedish society and if it has become better or worse for the Swedish citizens. Klas focus on the Swedish education system and criticises it saying that Sweden need more high educated people and are behind big parts of Europe when it comes to this. He means that to become a strong and powerful part of the globalisation Sweden needs to put more efforts and focus in higher education like the university studies for example. I think that the biggest different now a days is the industrial situation where Sweden has lost thousands of jobs to countries with cheaper labour. Instead of old industrial jobs Sweden has changed into a country full of services and a high technology industry with fewer workers and more machines. What I am going to do with this work is to try to find out if Sweden has it better to day or if it has become worse.
Hi Sebastian,
I'm Giancarlo. I'm interested in the economical and social situation and the effects of globalisation in Sweden, especially because I don't know much about it, but now I'd like to make some considerations about globalisation in general referring to the Italian situation that is better known to me.
I'm going to link to the point you've drawn attention to, that is if things are better nowadays or before; it is a central point of discussion in most part of sociological, economical and political literature of the last years.
We often heard about positive or negative aspects of globalisation, while at present many analyses are rightly – in my opinion – considering both at the same time. Infact I think that these are two faces of the same medal, in my opinion globalisation is not completely good or bad in itself, probably the problem changes in relation to the quality and quantity of its impact to different societies and to how social, political and economical actors are able to manage it.
The so-called 'economical globalisation' is something that has to be observed from three different levels – international, national and local - at the same time; favouring the exchange of goods, services, people and information beyond national borders, it has in fact highlighted and strengthened the role of various regions and local realities among national and international economical scenarios making local systems meet but also compete among themselves.
Obviously this can be a good or a bad thing, it depends on to the starting conditions of the regions involved and their capacity to react to external imputs. Active and dynamic countries are able to react and take advantage of this while this increase of scale could be seriously damaging for others,
I'm thinking either about less developed regions located in rich and industrialized countries or poor countries in the world that see their suffering increase. There are many reasons that make convergence processes not easy to achieve, favouring, at the contrary, a dangerous divergence process from the richest areas.
Relatively to the Italian situation, the change of these last years has pointed out different problems: the necessity to change our industrial systems, too 'traditional', to make innovation and to make important investments, not only in industry or infrastructures but also in formation, a fundamental thing in the nowadays 'knowledge economy' - we are staying behind in this sense and we are realizing that we are going to suffer for this -. But it also made us look at economy from another point of view, underlining the importance of regions and local systems, territory is seen as the basis of our 'real' economies and this made us rediscover some fundamental parts of our society and economy, such as all the social actors, precious environmental and artistic resources, traditional productions to protect and so on.
However the question is not only economical and there are many big problems to face. Some social problems, for example I'm thinking about positive and negative aspects of having 'a country full of services and a high technology industry with fewer workers and more machines', as you say; ecological problems (caused by increased consumptions and more pollution) that impact differently various regions in the world; cultural problems, in order to mantain, for example, peculiar characteristics of many little societies' traditions and cultures in a world that tends to homogenize.
In response to Sebastian:
Hi, I'm Diego. I will expose the point of view of a student that's not an expert of economy, but that is only seeing the effect of this economic policy.
The effects of globalisation in Italy are the same as Sweden and all industrialized countries. For Italians the problem is about the 2 phase of industrial activity: production and selling. The production is moved to the countries of Third World where workers are cheaper and selling takes place in our countries expensively. All these are advantage for business men. But, in my opinion, there aren’t advantage for any other. The third world doesn’t receive any help for progressing. Industrialized countries’ workers are replaced by
cheaper and preyed upon workers. This economic policy would be positive if all
countries were industrialized all the same level... But, nowadays, it's impossible.
In responce to Sebastian: Hi Sebastian! I'm Elisa, a phd student at the Agrarian faculty in Pisa. I don't know very much about globalisation, because I ever have not expanded my personal culture about this topic. I don't know which consequences globalisation carries to big powers like China, or for example Russia, but I really can see that consequences that can be caused to our little realities. As you know, Italy is a place abundant in local products; every region has many typical products, both food and handmade ones.
To make an example, in Sardinia island, farm-workers produce many cheeses, many types of bread, and so on.. and these peasantries live selling their products to fellow countrymans and foreigners. Even in the islands near Venice, craftsmans live selling carnival masks and beautiful laces. You know that Italy has an economy based on tourism; for this reason typical and local products are very important. So, globalisation improves the production of these products by industries, it brings to their prices reduction and the consequence is that foreigners but even Italian citizens buy the industries-made products to economize. But these products have a low quality respect to the original ones, and craftmans and farm-workers became unable to sell their creations.
Another example that I can explain, (but it is not about Italy), is that Afghanistan farmers are forsed by Monsanto multinatinal to buy OGM seeds. These seeds are called TERMINATOR, because after the growth of the plants, seeds produced by OGM plants are not able to generate other plants. So, Afghanistan farmers (that can't sow their normal seeds)are forsed to buy Monsanto TERMINATOR seeds again and again.
I hope next time I'll have a broad-spectrum opinion about globalisation, to better confront myself with you! Have a nice day! Elisa
Hello everyone!
I'm Stefan. I normally live in Brussels, but I also spend a week or two every month with my family in the small village of Sigtuna, just north of Stockholm.
I decided to write about globalisation because I think it is a subject which is affecting our every day lives. If you are in Italy, Belgium or Sweden, it doesn't matter: you can relate to globalisation in one way or another.
Our task at Mid Sweden University is rather limited. Our essay should be about two pages. I have a degree in economics, but first and foremost, I am interested in other people's opinion about globalisation (rather than explaining comparative advantages etc.).
Here is the introduction to my essay:
"Globalisation – pros and cons
Many companies in industrialised countries shut down local production facilities, relocate their production to countries with lower wages in order to sell the final product at home to a lower price. The provision of services is also being transferred to call-centres in low cost countries. High streets around Europe resemble each other more and more when the same multinational companies dominate the markets. Welcome to a globalised world!
This essay aims to deal with the following questions:
- Does globalisation mean that some people lose while others win?
- Was it better before, when the consumer could choose between local companies only?
- How do different actors around the world react to globalisation?"
I would appreciate all comments, especially as regards the questions "Was it better before..." and "How do different actors react...". How do you react??
Some examples:
If you call Scandinavian airlines (SAS) to book an airline ticket, you dial a local number but end up talking to a salesperson in Estonia. I live half of my life in Belgium and when I call my local bank in Brussels, someone in Barcelona takes the call. Being Swedish, it is rather impossible to get this job unless I want to move to either Estonia or Spain. BUT as a customer, I prefer low prices (flying cheap and banking without fees)!
On the other hand: Until quite "recently" (I was born in 1966) you would only encounter "undrinkable" Swedish filter coffee in town when you met up with your friends. Nowadays you can easily order a "Light Cinnamon Latte" at Starbucks or any other coffee shop following the same coffee trend. Hourray for the arrival of Starbucks, yes?
Looking forward to your comments! Please feel free to give your own local examples!
All the best to everyone!
Stefan
Hi all
My name is Lina and I want to post a comment in response to the whole blog (in general concerning “Globalization”.
Globalization is today a buzzword frequently used around the world it is almost as commonly used as the popular topic describing our environmental issues. Everybody on a national and international level in the political and economical community is talking about globalization. Everybody has a theory on what globalization is, to try and describe globalization as a phenomenon is a rather complex thing to do. I agree with Giancarlo in common that it is crucial to observe globalization from different levels and areas. If you want a fair chance to get it right you really must consider the starting point you chose in trying to describe what globalization is.
Have a nice evening
/Lina
In response to Diego:
Hi Diego I want to thank you for your feedback and your thoughts and I agree with you when it comes to the industrial move that we are have seen during the last 15 years. I don’t know exactly how many Swedish companies that have moved there industry to other cheaper countries but it’s a lot for sure. If it is a problem I can’t say. In Sweden now days we have a labour market that is working good with more high education jobs. What we have seen during the last 15 years is a change from old traditional industrial jobs to a labour market that benefit in first hand people with education. What I want to say is that we in Sweden have more or less the same amount of jobs as we had some years ago the differences today is that this new jobs pay better. When I look at the globalisation this way I see us in Sweden as winners and for example Poland a country with a lot of ours old industrial jobs as a winner as well. Off course this jobs doesn’t pay as good as they did ones in Sweden but maybe in some years we will reach the same level. Another good thing with the globalisation is that we have the opportunity to study together with you guys from Italy in a blog over Internet. I look at the future with hope and faith.
Hi!
I think that all people can talk about Globalisation, because it is present everywhere!!
Certainly, it has positive and negative aspects and it regards capital market, policy and culture. In the last years often we listen in on radio or TV news about far countries, such as USA, China ext, and what happened in those countries has some consequences in ours political or economical situation.
Globalisation improves knowleged of differet realities of the world, for example we know terrible situation of Tibet! At the same time it develops capital markets, but without rules, so differences between North and South world increase. Globalisation isn’t a negative reality of ours time, but we must drive it in a correct way, based on respect of people and true competition.
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