The recent meetings of the world’s leading economic countries have attracted world leaders and their critics.
A book edited by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic and his British colleague attempts to address the motivations for protests against globalization – the growing gap between rich and poor countries as the world’s economy and trade becomes more integrated across national boundaries.
The book, titled Trade, Growth and Inequality in the Era of Globalization, was co-edited by Associate Professor Kishor Sharma from CSU’s Faculty of Commerce and Professor Oliver Morrissey from University of Nottingham, UK, and combines their considerable experience in assessing economies worldwide.
Professor Sharma asserts that although living standards in developed countries have increased considerably in recent years, one fifth of the world’s population, nearly all in developing countries, still live below the poverty line.
“I believe poverty and inequity are the roots of civil unrest in many developing countries and we, living in developed countries, are also feeling its effects. Addressing poverty and inequity should be our top priority to ensure the long term peace and harmony in society.
“Poor people in these countries are struggling to even meet the basic necessities of life – 1.7 billion people today live on less that US$1 per day which is unacceptable in the era of globalization. “If globalization is supposed to spread the increasing wealth, why has it failed to benefit these people, and what can we do about it?,” Professor Sharma says.
Sharma and Morrissey have gathered examples from 11 developing countries in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America to show if globalization has benefited these countries, and why – or why not.
Leading experts from Australia, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa have investigated the link between trade, economic growth and inequality in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico.
“The economies explored vary from the relatively ‘open’ economies of Brazil and South Africa to the centrally controlled economies of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. We hope these will provide useful lessons and policy insights for international aid agencies, academics and policy makers worldwide.
“The book also provides a much needed comparative study of the link between globalization, growth and inequality, and assesses how it affects growth and inequality and poverty in developing and transition countries.”
Published by Routledge (UK), the book will be launched by CSU’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter at the Third International Conference in Contemporary Business at Peppers’ Fairmont Resort, Leura in the NSW Blue Mountains on Thursday 21 September.
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