Limits to Globalization: North-South Divergence

by William R. Thompson, Rafael Reuveny

Overview

In the post-Cold War era, economic globalization has loomed, at least for some, as the world'system's next crisis carrier, creating winners and losers and trampling on the distinctiveness of local cultures. Yet the liberal assumption is that if the market does its job, the poor will catch up to the rich via trade-driven growth and the economies of developed and less developed countries will gradually converge.

Investigating the processes of economic globalization, this book explores whether it is truly a "global" process. It examines how globalization is experienced around the world, comparing its intensity and impact in both the global North and South. Using a world'systems approach and developing a theoretical analysis that builds on the leadership long-cycle approach to global political economy, this book seeks to dispel some of the myths widely propagated regarding economic development. Through a focus on the issues of technological diffusion, debt, conflict, and democratisation, the authors demonstrate how and why the asymmetries that have characterized the global North and South in the past and present are growing more acute.

This important book will be of interest to students and scholars of international political economy, globalisation, international trade and development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415776721
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/22/2009
Series:	Rethinking Globalizations , #21
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

William R Thompson is Rogers Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, USA.

Rafael Reuveny is Associate Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), Indiana University, USA.

Table of Contents

1. Unreal and Unflat Worlds 2. Interpreting Economic Growth and Development 3. Exploring the North-South Gap Longitudinally 4. Geo-Economic Limits on Technological Diffusion 5. Limits on Globalization Processes 6. Southern Debt Crises 7. Growth and Conflict 8. Southern Democracy in the Long Run 8. Uneven Growth Processes and Prospects