The social dimension of globalization: A review of the literature

Gunter, Bernhard G.; Hoeven, Rolph van der

doi:10.1111/j.1564-913x.2004.tb00545.x

Cited by 51 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…While most econometric studies find that liberalization on average is associated with growth, this positive relationship 'is neither automatically guaranteed nor universally observable' [72]. Moreover, poverty reduction during globalization's peak decades of liberalized trade, during which global economic growth quadrupled, has been modest at best, leading one senior World Bank development economist to conclude that "it is hard to maintain the view that expanding external trade is...a powerful force for poverty reduction in developing countries" [73]; while there is robust empirical consensus that trade liberalization leads to inequalities in labour markets, as wages for highly skilled workers in globally competitive industries rise and those for lesser skilled workers in relative abundance fall [74]. This is not to argue that trade liberalization is necessarily bad for health; rather, there is evidence and argument that the pacing of such liberalization, alongside the provision of social safety nets and flexibilities that account for countries' different development levels and productive capacities, can help to offset the dislocations in domestic labour markets that inevitably follow openness to global competition [75,76].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy

2010

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Global health financing has increased dramatically in recent years, indicative of a rise in health as a foreign policy issue. Several governments have issued specific foreign policy statements on global health and a new term, global health diplomacy, has been coined to describe the processes by which state and non-state actors engage to position health issues more prominently in foreign policy decision-making. Their ability to do so is important to advancing international cooperation in health. In this paper we review the arguments for health in foreign policy that inform global health diplomacy. These are organized into six policy frames: security, development, global public goods, trade, human rights and ethical/moral reasoning. Each of these frames has implications for how global health as a foreign policy issue is conceptualized. Differing arguments within and between these policy frames, while overlapping, can also be contradictory. This raises an important question about which arguments prevail in actual state decision-making. This question is addressed through an analysis of policy or policy-related documents and academic literature pertinent to each policy framing with some assessment of policy practice. The reference point for this analysis is the explicit goal of improving global health equity. This goal has increasing national traction within national public health discourse and decision-making and, through the Millennium Development Goals and other multilateral reports and declarations, is entering global health policy discussion. Initial findings support conventional international relations theory that most states, even when committed to health as a foreign policy goal, still make decisions primarily on the basis of the 'high politics' of national security and economic material interests. Development, human rights and ethical/moral arguments for global health assistance, the traditional 'low politics' of foreign policy, are present in discourse but do not appear to dominate practice. While political momentum for health as a foreign policy goal persists, the framing of this goal remains a contested issue. The analysis offered in this article may prove helpful to those engaged in global health diplomacy or in efforts to have global governance across a range of sectoral interests pay more attention to health equity impacts.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy

2010

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“…Global trade competition coupled with the demand for increased workforce flexibility, the fast pace of technological innovation, and government deregulation of industry have led to widespread corporate layoffs, workplace restructuring, and the increasing use of a contingent workforce (Gunter & van der Hoeven, 2004;Hirsch & De Soucey, 2006). These conditions virtually ensure that employees of the new millennium will experience a substantially different workplace environment compared with employees in decades past.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A Swiss-US Comparison of the Correlates of Job Insecurity

et al. 2010

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Much is known about the general correlates of job insecurity but less about whether the strength of these correlations differs between countries. In order to fill this gap in the literature, the current study explored the correlates of job insecurity as a function of the cultural value of uncertainty avoidance. Specifically, using two samples from countries with very different uncertainty avoidance orientations (Switzerland and the US), we tested whether the relationships of job insecurity with job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and turnover intention are stronger in the Swiss sample. As expected, Swiss respondents scored higher in uncertainty avoidance than their US counterparts. Contrary to expectations, however, the results showed that the relationships between job insecurity and outcomes were stronger in the US than in Switzerland. Substantial differences in the social safety net within the two countries are discussed as a plausible explanation of this finding.

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“…Thus it is often argued that foreign capital, crucial to export growth, is attracted not so much by low labour costs as by the dynamism of the markets, high levels of political stability, and generally good prospects for profits. It is also noted that, in the context of widespread poverty, low-quality jobs are better than no jobs at all, and that their creation can be seen as the first step on the road to economic growth, better wages and higher labour standards (Ghose, 2000;Gunter & van der Hoven, 2004). It is not quite clear whether this optimism is entirely warranted.…”

Section: International Labour Standards and Economic Globalisationmentioning

confidence: 93%