2. Chapter 17 Making the World a Better Place

3. Review Concepts to Review – Corporate social responsibility, global civil society organizations, inequality, WTO, cyclical volatility, environmental regulation, 2008 financial crisis Key Words – Poverty alleviation; alternative forms of global economic system; the G20; global governance systems; the Bretton Woods agreement

4. Recap of Themes Geographic rescaling of economic activities Cyclical volatility Changes in the relative growth rates of different parts of the world Increased interdependence: a source of vulnerability TNCs and states: shaping of the global economic map. Impossibility of separating the geoeconomic from the geopolitical Three big geopolitical issues: – US shift towards pre-emptive action post-9/11 – Rise of China and East Asia generally – Failed, dysfunctional or inadequate states

5. Corporate Social Responsibility Global civil society organizations – Vary from the anti-capitalist to the national – Often have contradictory agendas – Force people to engage with the unevenness of globalization Corporate social responsibility – Milton Friedman: companies only exist to maximize shareholder value – Alternative: stakeholder capitalism – Define: inactive, reactive, active and proactive approaches – Participation may be altruistic or through self-interest Codes of conduct – Four major types: Devised by TNCs Drawn up by coalitions of interest groups Formulated by TNCs in association with stakeholders Established by NGOs

6. Global Governance Finance – Bretton Woods agreement1944: International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank created – Since 1970s, agreement undermined, leading to a market-led rather than state-led system – 1997: Asian crisis, calls for a reformed financial architecture – 2008: need for a new financial architecture for everyone made plain – Most important development is the emergence of the G20 International trade – Regulated since WWII by the GATT and since 1995 by the WTO – WTO takes rule-oriented approach to multilateral trade cooperation – Fundamental basis is non-discrimination, based on Most-favoured nation principle National treatment rule – The Doha development round (2001—) Environmental regulation – 1992: Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) – 1997: Kyoto Protocol – Problem: developing countries adopting measures that could prevent their future economic development

7. Future Trends? Alternative economies – Hyper-globalizers: argue for more openness of markets – Anti-globalizers: argue for the opposite – Environmentalists: need to take environment into account – Development of ‘community economies’ and micro-finance Openness versus poverty alleviation – IMF and World Bank encourage openness as cure for all ills – This only works if playing field is level – Opening up a developing economy will also lead to disaster Hence need means in place to develop robust internal structures – UN Millennium Development Declaration: to alleviate extreme poverty – Aid programmes failing to meet needs – Prosperity isn’t just about money: it can also be about happiness, well-being