1. Please review the environmental issues powerpoint posted under week 7 module and answer the following questions:
2. What is green washing?

Green washing refers to the way environmentally and socially damaging companies portray their corporate image and products as being “environmentally friendly” or socially responsible.

2. What is the major world energy production?
3. Petroleum- 36.8 %
4. Coal-26.6%
5. Dry natural gas-22.9%
6. Nuclear-6.0%
7. Hydropower-6.3%
8. Clean renewables (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass) – 1.4%
9. What are the immediate dangers associated with global warming?
10. Melting glaciers and permafrost resulting in elevated sea levels.
11. Changing patterns of rainfall, new flood plains and dry regions.
12. Increases in waterborne diseases and diseases transmitted by insects.
13. What are the threatened species worldwide?
14. Mammals
15. Birds
16. Amphibians
17. Reptiles
18. Fishes
19. Invertebrates
20. Plants
21. Lichens
22. What are the top ten things you can do to fight global warming?
23. Replace five incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).
24. Instead of short haul flights of 500 miles or so, take the train and bypass 310 pounds of CO2.
25. Get a fan, set your thermostat to 75(F) and blow away 363 pounds of CO2.
26. Replace refrigerators more than 10 years old with Energy Star models and save over500 pounds of CO2.
27. Shave your 8-minute shower to 5 minutes for a savings of 513 pounds.
28. Caulk, weather-strip, and insulate your home. If you rely on natural gas heating, you’ll stop 639 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. In the summer, you’ll save 226 pounds from air conditioner use.
29. Whenever possible, dry your clothes on a line outside or a rack indoors. If you air dry half your loads, you’ll dispense with 723 pounds of CO2.
30. Because it takes more fossil fuels to produce red meat than fish, eggs, and poultry, switching to these foods will slim your CO2 emissions by 950 pounds.
31. Leave the car at home and take public transportation to work.
32. Support the creation of wind, solar, and other renewable energy facilities by choosing green power if offered by your utility.

 

Please review the globalization and democracy powerpoint postedunder modules/week 7 and answer the following questions:

6. How have increased levels of exports to the US influenced the level of democracy in the exporting countries?

The data trends provided suggests a correlation between exports and democracy. To be specific, it alludes that there is a close connection betweenthe number of world democracies and world manufactured exports. It can be assumed that exports to U.S. encourage democracy in exporting country, but it can also be inferred that democracy in exporting country encourages exports to the U.S. The direction of the causation is not specific but can only be assumed that increased levels of exports to the U.S. influence the level of democracy in the exporting LDC.

1. Do You Think Free Trade Creates Severe Environmental Problems? Briefly Discuss.

Yes I am of the thinking that free trade will create severe environmental problems. Despite free trade being beneficial to most economies in form of bringing efficiencies and growth, and reduces wasteful use of resources, it also creates environmental problems. Most developing countries have poor environmental laws to address the environmental concerns and even when the laws are in place, these countries are lax in their enforcement. Thus free trade will provide a “pollution haven” for companies from the developed countries who want to escape environmental enforcement in their countries. However, I think that free trade will only be fair if environmental regulations and enforcement are comparable in all countries. (Clapp & Dauvergne, 2005) (Friedman, 2007)

 

1. Article critique- “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Side of Globalization” by Panos Mourdoukoutas on Forbes

The article I have chosen is an online article published by Forbes on their website. It falls under international economics issues. The article is headed “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Side of Globalization” by Panos Mourdoukoutas (2011).

The predominant economic issue being addressed in this article is the subject of the increased integration and independence of domestic and overseas markets, which is globalization. The article attempts to bring to the surface the three sides of globalization, which he christens: the good side, the bad side, and the ugly side. He goes ahead and explicates these different faces of globalization by demonstrating the negative and positive influences that globalization has on different economies based on the strength of a particular economy.

He states that the good aspect of globalization revolves entirely around the efficiencies and opportunities that open markets provide and generate. He states that globalization has facilitated efficient and effective communication of businesses with their customers, partners and suppliers. As well as allow businesses to better manage their distribution network, suppliers and inventories. This is to say, increased integration has allowed producers to sell their products and goods in distant markets with the same ease and as in their domestic market. He adds another good aspect of globalization is the increased ease of accessing credit and rising leverage, as capital flows with ease across local and national boarders, this he states sets the world economy into a virtuous cycle of income and employment growth.

The bad side of globalization, he states involves the increase in risks and uncertainties that are brought about by the high degree of integration of domestic and international markets, the intensified competition, the high degree of imitation, price and profit swings and businesses and product destruction. He adds that the bad side also encompasses the tight credits, deleverage, and the decline of money flows across local and international boundaries, as a result of creditors protecting themselves by tightening credit to both good and bad borrowers, dampening aggregate demand, setting the world economy into the vicious cycle of decreased income and increased unemployment. He states this can lead to pessimism and eventually may result to a burst of asset bubble.

In the article, Mourdoukoutas asserts the ugly side of globalization arises when economies try to escape income and employment declines by simultaneously devaluating their currencies, and raising trade barriers to protect their domestic industries, thereby putting an end to globalization and opening an avenue for trade wars, as was the case during the great depression of the 1930s.

The article touches on several economic concepts that have been learnt in the course. First it brings out the issue of globalization and the role it plays in the world economy. It highlights the benefits that globalization has brought into the economies of most developed countries and goes on to give the negative aspects that globalization brings with it, as well as what he terms as the ugly side of globalization.

While reading the article, it also touched on trade barriers and the effects that the imposition of trade barriers would have on the world economy. He states that trade barriers discourage and slows down globalization and may in the long run result to trade wars as was the case in the great depression of the 1930s.

Another concept that the article brings out is the issue of how companies cope in the face of globalization. The increased competition, the high degree of imitation, price and profit swings, increased risks and uncertainties, and other concerns such as unpredictable demand that denies them the power to price, as well as reduced access to credit and decline in capital flow across boarders.

The argument which he has put forward is that generally globalization is good. He states that in the last quarter of the century, and for most part of the 21^st century, the world has experienced the positive and beneficial side of globalization. However, he adds that in the last seven years, world economies have seen the bad side of integration and interdependence of domestic and overseas markets.

His argument is factual and correct, I agree with it. Globalization in the beginning brought with it many benefits to the world economy, but in the last few years it has had a negative impact on economies, especially those in the developing countries and to a smaller extent in the developed countries as now stringent conditions have been placed to protect everyone. I can attribute the negative effect of globalization in recent times to greedy multinational companies which have taken the opportunity and taken advantage of free markets to exploit weaker economies, with no due regards to the effects that their actions would have to the citizens of that economy.

As an economist I would have been more contended with the article of it had provided solutions for the bad and ugly side of globalization. Perhaps the author should have indicated steps such as world leaders should come up with policies and undertake steps that will protect and promote the interests of the vulnerable and weak economies and communities.

 

2. Essay Topic: Future of Globalization

In the 1990s, globalization was viewed with enormous optimism. It was expected to bring unprecedented prosperity to all countries in the world. International flow of capital had increased six-fold. New trade agreements were heralded as introducing a new era.

By the end of the decade, all of a sudden globalization looked quite different. Studies by the World Bank pointed out that the poorest region in the world, sub-Saharan Africa was actually worse off by about 2-3 percent than a decade earlier. Not only had the U.S gotten the lion’s share of the gains from globalization, but some of the gains had come at the expense of other countries.

An assessment of the prospect of globalization must take into account economic, social, and political trends and the tensions stemming from those trends. Some forces will propel globalization while others will resist it. Thus the future of globalization will to a large extent be determined by whether the perceived positive effects of globalization outweigh the presumed negative effects.

Critics of globalization have insisted that globalization has increased the unevenness of wealth distribution. Zedillo (2014, pp. 5-6), blames globalization for the disappointing performance of regions such as latin america and sub-saharan africa. He points to asymmetries and other weaknesses in the rules and modus operandi of some key instruments. He highlights the trade regime and the international financial institutions as clear examples of instruments that have contributed to the negative experiences of many developing countries with globalization. Opponents of globalization believe that globalization has failed the poor. On the other hand, supporters of globalization do not blame globalization for unspeakable poverty, repression and injustice, but suggest a need for new thinking about different aspects of globalization. They state that in fact globalization has helped to raise the income of developing countries.

According to Zedillo (2014, p. 6), africa has globalized in a dysfuntional way; exporting capital rather than attracting it, exporting great volumes of natural resources but little less, and becoming a base for international crime. For globalization to advance and be promoted in future, there will be a need for the adoption of an international agenda to make globalization a friend of the poor and this can be achieved by rallying international cooperation to achieve the UN millennium development goals and the WTO Doha development agenda. The international community needs to help Africa participate beneficially in the global economy, and this can be facilitated by providing assistance for improving governance and for coping with external shocks.

In conclusion, whether a believer or a skeptic of its benefits, most people would agree that globalization is a phenomenon to be seriously studied and debated. The ways in which globalization advances, stalls, or even retrogresses in the years to come, not only will decisively influence international geopolitical relations, but will also determine whether or not the process of economic convergence among all countries will be firmly set in motion in the twenty first century.

However, it is worth noting that globalization is a phenomenon whose future will continuously grow. The pace of globalization will continue to increase, and new challenges and opportunities will arise for leaders and economics and communities. Globalization will continue to bring immense benefits to may sectors, and at the same time certain economies and individuals will remain vulnerable and susceptible. Thus there will be a need to protect and promote the interests of these economies and communities.

 

3, Please Read Attached The IMF-WTO Article And Answer The Following Questions:

Voting rights in the imf are determined through which method?

Voting rights in the IMF are weighted by the size of the economy. That is, voting power is weighted based on the size of the economy and therefore the quota allocation of each country. Decisions are usually taken by consensus, but the United States, asthe IMF’s major shareholder, has the most influence in the institution’s policy-making.

The IMF and World Bank make loans pegged to the gold reserves of the member countries.(True/False)

False

Which organization in the World Bank family lends money to private companies?

International Finance Corporation. It is the largest public source of financial investment for private sector projects in developing countries.

 

What is the aim of the international bank for reconstruction and development?

The main aim of the international bank for reconstruction and development is to reduce poverty of the middle income-developed countries (LDCs) by promoting sustainable development, through loans, guarantees, and non-lending-including analytical and advisory-services

What is the difference between an investment loan and an adjustment loan?

Investment loans are granted for projects that will produce goods or services or public works to help economic and social development, while adjustment loans are granted for programs to support reforms to government policies

What is the aim of the international development association loans?

The aim of this loan is to provide financial assistance to the poorest developing countries by promoting sustainable development, through zero-interest loans that have longer payment periods of 35 to 40 years and a grace period of 10 years

What is the main difference between the World Bank and IMF?

The World Bank gives loans for all types of project, such as building dams or combating aids; while the IMF mainly focuses on loans dealing with a country’s financial and monetary problems.

Essay 3: The Most Interesting Topic Covered During The Semester

The topic that I found most interestingwas the topic on the forces that flattened the world. This topic is covered in chapter 2 of the book and which outlines ten forces which Friedman states flattened the world. These forces which he aptly refers to as flatters are credited with being the forces or major worldwide events that were central to the increase in globalization, and resulted to a more opened up world by increasing the ease of transfer of information, services and goods across and between countries and cultures. The topic uses these forces to explain the role of historical events in shaping and bringing the world together.

These 10 events which were outlined included: Flattener 1: “11/9/89, The New Age Of Creativity: When The Walls Came Down And TheWindows Went Up”; Flattener 2: “8/9/95, The New Age Of Connectivity: When The Web Went Around And Netscape Went Public”; Flattener 3: “Work Flow Software”; Flattener 3: “Work Flow Software”; Flattener 4: “Uploading, Harnessing the Power of Communities”; Flattener 5: “Outsourcing: India”; Flattener 6: “Offshoring: China”;Flattener 7: “Supply-Chaining: Wal-Mart”; Flattener 8: “Insourcing: Ups”; Flattener 9: “In-Forming: Google And Yahoo! Groups”; and Flattener 10: “The Steroids”.

This topic explored Friedman’s flattening factors, their beginnings and the weight that they had on the way people did businesses in the future. This topic to me was the most interesting, especially because as a young student it placed in perspective many past and presentevents and developments in the world economy in a way which I was not aware of but now I understand.

I did not find any of the topics as being difficult or challenging, however, it worth noting that some chapter were thought provoking, inflaming and irritating, although they served as a stimuli for me as a person to work harder and be successful. Chapters 6: The Untouchables, was an interesting read especially by identifying the three broad categories of workers who will have job security in the flat world;Chapter Twelve: Globalization of the Local, gave me the perspective of people form other countries and economies with regards to globalization and Americanization; andChapter Sixteen: The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention, was an eye opener of how geopolitical conflicts could derail or slow globalization.

 

References

Clapp, J., & Dauvergne, P. (2005). Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment (Illustrated ed.). Massachussets: MIT Press.

Friedman, T. L. (2007). The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Third Edition ed.). New York: Picador.

Mourdoukoutas, P. (2011, October 9). The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Side Of Globalization. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from FORBES: http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2011/09/10/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-side-of-globalization/

Zedillo, E. (2014). The Future of Globalization: Explorations in Light of Recent Turbulence. Routledge.

 
Do you need an Original High Quality Academic Custom Essay?