Discussion Questions

Use the questions below to structure a discussion on the promise and peril of economic integration. We offer some suggested sources to complement your consideration of these important issues.

1) An integrated global supply chain means, according to Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, it is possible for a company located anywhere to produce a product anywhere, using resources from anywhere, to be sold anywhere. [23]   What vulnerabilities are intrinsic in this system for countries, governments and organizations? What role do do labor and migration play in this globally integrated economic system?

2) What will a potential shift of the economic center of gravity from the traditional G-6 countries to the BRIC countries mean? Does it signal hope for a new wave of economic growth and prosperity worldwide or does it simply indicate that the end of European and American economic preeminence is near? Will economic growth in BRIC countries allow for the development of a middle class within these states or force a wedge between the rich and the poor as income is unequally distributed? In what ways can the different revolutions derail growth in the BRIC countries?

3) According to the World Bank, 2.8 billion people—nearly forty-five percent of the world’s population—live on less than two dollars a day. To what extent can global economic growth address this problem? The rise of radical Islam, environmental and rural protectionist movements, and the “Bolivarian” movement in Venezuela led by Hugo Chavez are all examples of how perceived inequality can spur powerful political movements. What is the long-term impact of such movements on the further integration of the world economy? How can the benefits of globalization be more widely distributed and the costs minimized? What specific role should the United States play in addressing global inequity? What specific role should current global powers (the EU, Japan) and rising powers (China, India, Brazil, Russia) play?

Bibliographic Materials from CSIS

The William M. Scholl Chair in International Business advises on the role international business plays in promoting economic growth, innovation, security, and freedom in the United States and throughout the world.

Dr. Sidney Weintraub holds the Simon Chair in Political Economy. Dr. Weintraub examines issues of trade, investment and international finance, particularly in Latin America and Canada.  

Visit the Global Strategy Institute’s Video Interview Library for an interview with Grant Aldonas, CSIS Senior Advisor and former Under Secretary for International Trade, on globalization, the BRIC economies, and inequality.   

Web Resources

The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire is a reliable source to track increasingly visible corporate involvement in international affairs.

The Economist is a premier online source for the analysis of world business and current affairs.

The World Bank works to eliminate poverty around the world.

Further Reading

Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

Kletzer, Lori G. “Globalization and job loss, from manufacturing to services.” Journal of Economic Perspectives. Chicago: Second Quarter 2005. Vol. 29, Issue 2, pg 1. http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/economicperspectives/ep_2qtr2005_part4_kletzer.pdf.

Stiglitz, Joseph E. Making Globalization Work. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.

Sachs, Jeffrey. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time. New York: Penguin Books, 2007.