The depression of the 1930s gave rise to the phrase “When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold”, symbolising the close economic relationships that existed between different countries. Today, in a much more interdependent and interconnected world, the globalization imprint can be felt everywhere. This winter in the UK, for example, we saw gas prises rise due to a dispute between Russia and the Ukraine. The mining of coal and the production of steel are once again profitable, fuelled by increasing demand from the Chinese; and we see clothing retailers having to adapt to cheap imports from the Far East. Despite financial crises, stock market bubbles, natural disasters, the risk of global diseases, terrorist attacks and the need for tighter security, the forces driving globalisation continue. Understanding why and how is not always readily apparent. This two‐volume Encyclopedia of the Global Economy sets out to examine the key people, institutions, current issues and historical events that have shaped, and continue to shape, the global economy into what we see and experience today.
Volume I begins with a timeline listing key world events from 1776 to 2009. This provides an at‐a‐glance snapshot of key economic, political, scientific and cultural events that have shaped the global economy. Beginning in 1776 with the publication of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, this eight‐page listing ends with China's hosting of the Olympics in 2008 and the scheduled completion in 2009 of the Three Gorges Dam. Following on are 168 alphabetically arranged entries exploring a variety of global topics. There are entries for the “individuals movers and shakers, past and present”’. These include the economists Thomas Malthus, J.M. Keynes, Adam Smith and Karl Marx; Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, and Keith Joseph, who was a key figure in the UK's move to a free market economy during the Thatcher years. Key global organizations, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, are also profiled with the entries here focussing on their structure and function. Regional trade associations such as Mercosur and ECOWAS are also described, as too are the regional development banks.
Most of the entries do, however, focus on analysing economic topics, including current issues, affecting the global economy. Hence there are explanations of capitalism and communism; what is meant by globalization and good governance; entries for corporate social responsibility, the digital divide, economic degradation and off‐shoring; explanations of purchasing power parity and race to the bottom. The entries for each topic are at least one page in length, with many being considerably longer, and all are clearly written. Black and white photographs, graphs and statistical tables add further clarification to the entries. Each entry is cross‐referenced to other related topics and includes items for further reading to allow more detailed research.
Volume II consists of two distinct sections. The first part reproduces approximately 60 documents to facilitate a deeper understanding of global economic issues. These range from The Maastricht Treaty, the World Bank's Poverty Reduction Action Agenda of 2002 to the Institute of Management Development's Golden Rules of Competitiveness. These primary documents are grouped under ten headings covering population, poverty reduction, economic growth and sustainable development, international trade, regional integration in the global trading system, foreign direct investment and corporate social responsibility, global labour markets and labour rights, the environment and sustainable development, consumer rights and sustainable consumption, and quality of life and economic justice. Each document is cross‐referenced back to related entries in Volume I.
The second half of this volume comprises statistical tables which cover population, global output, economic performance of both advanced economies and least developed countries, income distribution and poverty, social indicators, foreign direct investment, international trade, loan approvals by the regional development banks, global energy consumption and production, and global competitiveness and freedom. From these we can learn that Wal‐Mart is the world largest company in terms of both turnover and employees, we can see at a glance the world's consumption of both oil and gas from 1990 and projections to 2025, identify life expectancy in different regions of the world and find the world's most corrupt countries. The source of data for each table is clearly given.
Both volumes include the same list of abbreviations, glossary of selected terms, ten‐page bibliography and detailed index that allows for the location of topics in either volume.
This is an authoritative work and should prove a valuable resource for anyone wishing to gain an understanding of the driving forces of globalization.
