defined as globalization is truly that unique and novel and if it is an inevitable force. Mankind has already experienced periods in which people, commodities, capital and information were exchanged worldwide. In fact, is the result of historic today’s environment developments. Human communities have always been engaged in economic and social relationships with others, many historians even see a continuous upwards trend in the expansion of global trade, which was only interrupted from 1914 until 1945 (Bhagwati 2004). Nevertheless, contemporary globalization has some distinctive features which previous eras lack. One difference is the fashion in which states conduct international trade nowadays. In the past, the dominant type of exchange that took place was raw materials. Presently, the bulk of goods traded consists of merchandise and value added goods for further production. This means that cross border trade matters much more to traders than it did in the past (Bisley 2007). Another significant difference is the cause of the current wave of globalization compared to those of the past. Earlier integration was based on innovations, like the telegraph, the railroad, and the steam boat. All of these reduced transaction costs dramatically, thus creating new opportunities for trade, investment and entrepreneurship. These advances have ever since been fine-tuned and added upon. Today, transportation cost are even lower and the costs for overcoming distance have been significantly decreased, thus allowing for much closer and tighter networks over a greater distance, which affect more and more people. But, it is not just the fact that a larger part of the world is better connected than in years gone by; it is also the substantially increased rate of these connections that is significant (Bisley 2007). In other words, globalization in the past was primarily based upon technological advances. Certainly, today’s technological innovations still create incentives to engage in more trade, invest abroad and to integrate increasingly, but globalization in the current era is, to a large part, fueled by
defined as globalization is truly that unique and novel and if it is an inevitable force. Mankind has already experienced periods in which people, commodities, capital and information were exchanged worldwide. In fact, today’s environment is the result of historic developments. Human communities have always been engaged in economic and social relationships with others, many historians even see a continuous upwards trend in the expansion of global trade, which was only interrupted from 1914 until 1945 (Bhagwati 2004). Nevertheless, contemporary globalization has some distinctive features which previous eras lack. One difference is the fashion in which states conduct international trade nowadays. In the past, the dominant type of exchange that took place was raw materials. Presently, the bulk of goods traded consists of merchandise and value added goods for further production. This means that cross border trade matters much more to traders than it did in the past (Bisley 2007). Another significant difference is the cause of the current wave of globalization compared to those of the past. Earlier integration was based on innovations, like the telegraph, the railroad, and the steam boat. All of these reduced transaction costs dramatically, thus creating new opportunities for trade, investment and entrepreneurship. These advances have ever since been fine-tuned and added upon. Today, transportation cost are even lower and the costs for overcoming distance have been significantly decreased, thus allowing for much closer and tighter networks over a greater distance, which affect more and more people. But, it is not just the fact that a larger part of the world is better connected than in years gone by; it is also the substantially increased rate of these connections that is significant (Bisley 2007). In other words, globalization in the past was primarily based upon technological advances. Certainly, today’s technological innovations still create incentives to engage in more trade, invest abroad and to integrate increasingly, but globalization in the current era is, to a large part, fueled by