Globalisation Indices (DP IB Geography)
Revision Note
Measuring Globalisation
What is globalisation?
Globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of the world's economies, societies and cultures
Globalisation is nothing new, with people and places having past connections of raw materials and labour exchanges
However, globalisation today is bigger, more global and developing at a faster rate than in the past
It is a process driven by improvements in communication and transport which have made it easier for people, goods and information to move across national borders
There are three main forms of globalisation:
Economic
Pushed by the growth of transnational corporations (TNCs)
Social
The influence of ideas, culture, food, art, sport, etc. of one society on another
Political
The development and influence of international organisations on nation-states
The degree of globalisation can be measured through how much a country participates in global interactions
KOF Index of Globalisation
KOF Index (The Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research) produces an annual Index of Globalisation
First published in 2002, it contains data from 1970
Measures the social, economic and political aspects of globalisation
Uses a wide range of data, such as participation in UN Peace-keeping missions to TV ownership
Countries are scored out of 100 and the higher the number, the more globalised the country is
Dimension of Index | % of Index | Measures |
---|---|---|
Economic | 36% | Degree of the flow of trade, capital, services and investments |
Social | 38% | Includes indicators such as the flow of information, ideas, images, culture and people across borders |
Political | 26% | The degree of political cooperation and participation in international organisations |
Issues with KOF Index
This information is only available for 122 countries (2023)
Some of the indicators used are now outdated due to improvements in telecommunications
There is cultural bias in some of the indicators for example, the number of McDonald's Restaurants
Trade indicators ignore the informal economy
It does not consider environmental factors
Other Indices
A T Kearney Index
First published in 2008
It uses 12 indicators spread across 4 categories:
Economic integration
Flows of trade and foreign direct investments
Connectivity
The number of internet users, internet hosts and secure servers the country has
Political engagement
Membership of international organisations and treaties, contribution to UN peacekeeping, level of governmental transfers, such as aid
Personal integration
International travel and tourism, international telephone traffic and personal cross-border financial transfers such as remittances
The index value is calculated for each indicator on a scale of 0 to 1.0 (highest)
Issues with AT Kearney Index
Only includes 62 countries (2023), although it does include 84% of the world's population and 96% of global GDP
Dominated by European countries, USA and Canada
The increased weighting given to connectivity, enables USA to get a high index score despite its low global political engagement in terms of treaties, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement
The New Globalisation Index
This index is based on finance, trade, politics and social factors
It is different from other indices, as it also measures the distance of traded goods and how many refugees a country has
Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Argentina would score higher than France and Germany as the distances are greater
Jordan and Lebanon would appear more globalised than the UK due to the high numbers of refugees they have taken in
The Ernst and Young Globalisation Index
Developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit
It measures the 60 largest economies by its GDP according to their level of globalisation
It measures:
Openness to trade
Capital flows
Cultural integration
Flows of ideas and technology
Labour movement
Examiner Tip
Be careful not to confuse globalisation with development. They are not the same, so make sure you understand the difference.
Globalisation is the increasing connectedness of countries around the world through the movement of goods, services, capital and ideas across borders.
Development is progress a country makes towards improving the standard of living for its population.
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