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Essay / Globalization - 843
Globalization is one of the most debated issues of the day. It can be found everywhere on television, on websites, in learning journals, in union meeting rooms, and in organizational boardrooms. It is remarkable that for such a widely used term, there does not appear to be a precisely agreed definition. One of the frequently used definitions is that globalization refers to the increasing integration of societies across the world; it has taken many forms and is difficult to discuss in general terms. However, most of the time the term is used to refer to the economic integration of global markets. Therefore, our main discussion will be about the economic integration of the world and the negative effects of globalization, especially the negative effects. Palast (2002) argues that globalization is impoverishing the world's poor, enriching the rich, and devastating the environment, while few proponents see this. as a rapid means to universal peace and prosperity. Many developed countries began to liberalize in the 1980s following the imposition of structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and IMF. Proponents would argue that this liberalization would promote economic growth, which would reduce poverty and that countries with more open markets would experience higher growth rates than those with protectionist policies [Ades & Glaeser 1999]. However, Manenji (1998) argues that unregulated free trade, driven solely by market forces, in the sense that while it has improved the living standards of many people, particularly in developed countries, it does not has not improved the standard of living of the poorest. After 20 years of trade liberalization, poverty has not decreased in many countries. For example, in agriculture, where the poorest earn most of their living, food imports are partly responsible for the destruction of small farmers. For example, Malawi, which produces rice that it sold in most countries in South Africa, now has to deal with rice sold much cheaper. rate, which is imported from Asia. International food trade is growing much faster than food production; it took off thanks to trade liberalization under the aegis of the IMF, the WTO and the World Bank. As a result, more and more land in developing countries is being used by large multinational corporations to grow food for the export market, which has implications for food production for the local population. Prices of many agricultural products, such as coffee and tea, are at almost unprecedented levels. This has a very detrimental impact on poor farmers because the prices of imported food are so low that there is no point in growing them..