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Does Globalization Reduce Poverty? Cheerleaders, Cynics, and Worried Doubters [Global Agenda]

01/01/2003

From Global Agenda Magazine

Is globalization good for development in the world’s poor countries? Will it narrow the gap between rich and poor countries? Is it the key to bringing rapid declines in poverty around the world? Mainstream economists, once united on the merits of globalization, have splintered into three groups: cheerleaders, cynics, and worried doubters. None of the three is anti-globalization, but compared to a decade ago, there is now considerable debate around the margins - about how the global system (the WTO, the IMF) ought to work, and what trade and other policies countries ought to adopt. Here’s what it’s all about - and why it’s complicated.

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