GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is the increasing interconnection of people and places as a result of advances in transport, communication, and information technologies that causes political, economic, and cultural convergence.Looking specifically at economic globalization, it can be measured in different ways. These centre around the four main economic flows that characterize globalization:
A. Goods and services, e.g. exports plus imports as a proportion of national income or per capita of population
B. Labour/people, e.g. net migration rates; inward or outward migration flows, weighted by population
C. Capital, e.g. inward or outward direct investment as a proportion of national income or per head of population
D. Technology, e.g. international research & development flows; proportion of populations (and rates of change thereof) using particular inventions (especially 'factor-neutral' technological advances such as the telephone, motorcar, broadband)

Supporters of free trade claim that it increases economic prosperity as well as opportunity, especially among developing nations, enhances civil liberties and leads to a more efficient allocation of resources. Economic theories of comparative advantage suggest that free trade leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, with all countries involved in the trade benefiting. In general, this leads to lower prices, more employment, higher output and a higher standard of living for those in developing countries