DEVELOPMENT: Good or Bad, Globalisation Marches On DEVELOPMENT: Good or Bad, Globalisation Marches OnBy Abra PollockWASHINGTON, Oct 23 (IPS) - The phenomenon of globalisation is on the rise in several regions of the world not usually thought of as heavyweights on the international stage, according to the seventh annual "Globalisation Index" released here Monday by Foreign Policy magazine.Jordan, Estonia and Hong Kong all ranked among the top 10 most globalised nations of the world, while emerging powers like China and India ranked among the 10 least globalised, demonstrating that globalisation occurs in more spheres than just economic development. Nine new countries and Hong Kong were included in this year& 吉安民宿#39;s expanded index in order to provide a more comprehensive snapshot, said the magazine's survey, to which the management consulting giant A.T. Kearney also contributed. Newcomer Hong Kong ranked a close second behind Singapore, the world's most globalised country. The index measured the degree to which 72 countries that account for 88 percent of the world's population and 97 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) engage in global trade, politics, and technology, and international personal contact. "The areas that we measured are very powerful connectors of people across borders. [Globalisation] is more than just an 花蓮住宿 economic trend," said Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Policy. Basing its findings on 2005 statistics, the most recent year for which data was available, the index uses four combined variables to gauge a country's overall level of globalisation. "Economic integration" encompasses a country's level of international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), while "technological connectivity" measures the number of Internet users, Internet hosts, and secure servers that country hosts. "Personal contact" -- referring to a nation's international travel, level of tourism, international phone calls, and cross-border transfers, such as remittance 花蓮民宿s -- can also boost a country's globalisation index. Adherence to international treaties, personnel and financial contributions to U.N. peacekeeping missions, and the level of government transfer payments and receipts impact the "political engagement" variable. Each of these variables is adjusted in proportion to a country's population or its GDP in order to allow comparison between countries of different sizes. The addition of newcomer states and Hong Kong not only provides a more complete picture of globalisation, but also has impacted the standing of previous globalisation leaders. Switzerland dropped to number four on the index, down from number two in 2006. O 期貨thers that maintained their standing as the top 10 most-globalised countries included the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, the United States and Canada. "One of the big surprises of this year's index is just how resilient the globalisation trends are," said Naim. "We are seeing that in spite of all the rhetoric over whether globalisation is good or bad, it is increasing." Meanwhile, rising global stars China and India ranked close to the bottom at 66 and 71 out of 72, respectively. Surprise newcomer Jordan ranked ninth out of the 72 countries due to its high level of political engagement, the report said. Jordan contributes greatly to U.N. peacekeeping missions relative to other U.N. member states, 酒店經紀which reflected positively on its standing even though its economic integration was still low. "Baltic tiger" Estonia debuted at number 10 in the index. Experts attribute its strong standing to economic integration promoted by former Prime Minister Mart Laar, who stepped down in 2002. Among other generous economic practices, Estonia offers zero restrictions on foreign purchases of the country's real estate, and a virtually nonexistent corporate income tax. But globalisation is a process more complex than just a government's role in international business, according to Naim. "To say that globalisation is a goal to aim for would imply that it was something that governments could control. In fact, globalisation 租屋網is happening regardless of governments." "People are globalising themselves. There is a component of it that can be steered, but globalisation goes beyond politics, beyond economics. It is people sending remittances, making international phone calls, making connections across borders," Naim said. Other European countries that scored highly in the Index include Britain (12), Sweden (11), Germany (22), and Hungary (24). Although not as strong as Singapore and Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan took the lead within Asia, ranking at 22 and 28, respectively. As a hub for offshore industry, India's budding economy might seem to position it as an epicentre of globalisation. However, much of India's populace never comes in contact with its buz 房屋仲介z of global activity, the report said. With 70 percent of Indians living in rural areas, access to internet connectivity is limited to 5 percent of the population. This low technology connectivity brings down India's ranking. Indeed, according to the report, "the more urban a country, the more globalised it tends to be." Singapore -- which is 100 percent urban -- ranked number one on the index for the third year in a row. Smaller countries like Singapore rely more heavily on global economic integration in order to survive -- and this boosts their participation in the international community, the survey showed. Seven of the index's top 10 countries have less than 8 million citizens. "[W]hen you're a flyweight, globalising is matt 買屋網er of necessity. To be globally competitive, these countries have no choice but to open up and attract trade and foreign investment," said the report. The United States, on the other hand, withdrew from global economic integration during 2005, pushing its ranking down three places to number seven. Although the U.S. had the highest technology score overall -- its internet servers direct most e-mail between Europe and Latin America -- the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act offers tax incentives for domestic hiring, which meant that foreign investment dropped by over 60 percent. Cultural factors can also play a role in a country's level of globalisation. In the United States, concerns over terrorism repudiate the possibility of foreign companies managing U.S. ports, 房屋買賣the report said. France's collective nationalism influences the country to eschew foreign agriculture in favour of home-grown products. With the exception of Belgium, which ranked within the top 20, other newcomers in this year's index did not make as strong of a showing: Bulgaria (27), Ghana (33), Costa Rica (39), and Vietnam (48) all demonstrated only moderate levels of globalisation . Tanzania (61) and Algeria (70) ranked lower -- within the bottom 20. Iran ranked as the least globalised country, coming in near last across the board in terms of economic, personal, technological, and political participation in the world community. (END/2007)   .msgcontent .wsharing ul li { text-indent: 0; } 分享 Facebook Plurk YAHOO! 土地買賣  .
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