Globalization: Introduction
Learning Objectives
Students will learn about the basics of globalization as it relates to the interconnectedness of transportation and trade.
Materials
Class
- (5 Minutes) Think-Pair-Share: Ask students to think about what they know about globalization (Perhaps ask them to describe the process for producing a phone/ pair of shoes). Pair with neighbors to discuss. Share as class.
- (7 Minutes) Watch: What Is Globalization? (3:29)
- Ask: What is a major historical example of globalization in action (Think: Silk Road)? What key processes are part of globalization? Why is trade considered a good thing? What are some negative aspects of global trade? What are ways in which countries can manage the effects of globalization?
- *** Globalization: Introduction | Guided Reading Handout MAY BE USED IN NEXT STEPS***
- (7 Minutes) Read: It Takes a Village to Make Your Medicine
- Ask: What surprised you about the process behind getting your medicine? Why does the process require so many different countries?
- (8 Minutes) Read: Trains, Planes, and Shipping Containers
- Ask: How much did train travel reduce the time it took to get across the United States? How might this have impacted businesses within the United States? How might the different parts of the country work together to grow, produce, and manufacture different things?
- Ask: (Guided Reading Handout) How have modern transportation methods - like air travel - contributed to globalization?
- Ask: (Guided Reading Handout) Why were rectangular shipping containers such a profound technological advancement?
- (10 Minutes) Read: Six Essential International Organizations You Need to Know
- Ask: What are some of the major international organizations involved in trade? Which one did you recognize or have you heard about recently?
- (7 minutes) Brainstorm: To reinforce a working definition of globalization. Work together as a class to brainstorm a list of consumer goods (or types of goods) that require a global supply chain to produce (clothing, food, toys, technology, movies, etc). Once the list is created, have students volunteer to look at the process behind certain items for HW (trying to get a wide variety)
Homework
- Have students gather information about how globalization impacts how things are produced:
- For clothing, students could report the country where each item of their outfit was produced.
- For food, students might pick three food items at home and report the country where those items were produced, and, for processed foods, research whether the ingredients are native to that country.
- For movies, students could research where a favorite movie was filmed; what countries its funding, director, and actors came from; and what its box office numbers were
- Optional: Create a visual (or write a story) about the global process behind a favorite item (clothing, phone, shoe, toy, etc)
Vocabulary
- bailout
funds provided to an entity, such as a country or corporation, to help it avoid serious financial trouble, often bankruptcy.
- contagion
a phenomenon in which an economic crisis in one country results in economic problems in another through disruptions in trade and financial flows, or through panic as a result of a loss of confidence.
- economic liberalization
a term describing the reduction or elimination of government restrictions and regulations on the economy, including via privatization.
- foreign direct investment (FDI)
when a person or firm in one country (the direct investor) controls a business entity (direct investment enterprise) in another country. Usually, “control” is defined as owning 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares or voting power of an enterprise.
- Great Recession
the U.S. economic downturn that began in 2008 as a banking crisis, triggered by the bankruptcy declaration of Wall Street investment house Lehman Brothers. It was so named because its origin and severity seemed to echo the Great Depression that followed the 1929 stock market crash.
- gross domestic product
a measure of a country’s economic output determined by the value of goods and services it produces in a given year.
- International Monetary Fund
a multilateral financial institution established in 1944 that exists to foster stability and growth in the international monetary system.
- North American Free Trade Agreement
an agreement, entered into force in 1994, that eliminated or reduced most tariffs between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
- referendum
a vote, typically organized by a government, in which participants approve or reject a certain policy proposal. This is a form of direct democracy, in which citizens themselves (as opposed to elected representatives) make a policy decision.
- supply chain
a network—consisting of individual producers, companies, transportation, information, and more—that extracts a raw material, transforms it into a finished product, and delivers it to a consumer.
- swap lines
a mechanism designed to increase liquidity—that is, ensure the availability of adequate cash—by temporarily enabling the exchange of currency between central banks in different countries.
- tariff
a tax on goods arriving from a foreign country, generally used as a tool of trade and foreign policy to penalize adversaries or favor allies or domestic producers.
- World Bank
a multilateral financial institution created in 1944 that funds long-term economic development of low- and middle-income countries through loans and grants for policy reforms and for projects in infrastructure, health, education, governance, and other areas.
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
an international institution created in 1995 that regulates trade between nations. A replacement for the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO manages the rules of international trade and attempts to ensure fair and equitable treatment for its 164 members. It does this by conducting negotiations, lowering trade barriers, and settling disputes. As of 2018, the WTO had 164 members.