National Interests in an Age of Global Technology (1991) / Chapter Skim
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2. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION
2. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION
Pages 45-53
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From page 45... ...
As multilateral flows of trade, investment, and technology increase and more companies are drawn into global industrial networks of production, research, finance, and distribution, more firms are able to exploit the special competencies and technologies of an ever larger number of world-class national technical enterprises. This, in turn, speeds the development and diffusion of new product and process technologies and new "best practice" engineering and management techniques worldwide.
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From page 46... ...
As large numbers of highly trained, low-cost engineers and scientists in countries such as India, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary become increasingly linked with global product, service, and factor markets, the productive potential of available human assets is certain to increase.! Without hard data concerning world demand and the price elasticity thereof for science and engineering services, it is impossible to state conclusively whether the anticipated increase in productivity of the globe's technical work force would raise or lower total world demand for engineers and scientists.
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From page 47... ...
The advanced age and poor condition of public infrastructure, such as transportation systems, energy systems, water and waste treatment facilities, and housing, in many advanced industrialized countries, not to mention the lack of these vital infrastructures in many industrializing countries should also place major demands on a wide range of engineering and scientific talent in coming decades. Finally, the magnitude and intractable character of current global environmental problems, such as global warming or solid and hazardous waste reduction and disposal, are certain to require vast human technical resources to develop and apply tools, concepts, and specific technologies to meet these challenges.
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From page 48... ...
One need only consider the patterns of trade and foreign direct investment among the world's technologically most dynamic economies to appreciate this fact. International comparison of average levels of intraindustry trade the extent to which a nation exports and imports similar productsoffers one particularly illustrative perspective on the anomaly that is Japan.
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From page 49... ...
The reasons behind the more mercantilist character of particular nations are complex, having as much to do with the timing, historical context, and structural consequences of a country's industrialization, its culture, or its legal traditions, as with its specific public policies. Regardless of its causes, however, differential national treatment of international trade, technology, and investment flows has contributed to bilateral economic imbalances, increased international political friction, and fostered protectionism.
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From page 50... ...
a The calculation of intraindustry trade (IIT) in a single industry is based on the standard equation, IITi = [l-[xi-mi]
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From page 51... ...
Though not explicitly "protectionist," these impediments generate additional political tension between nations and often encourage policy responses that impede political and economic adjustment to new global realities. The Threat of Global Monopolies The recent surge in national and transnational mergers, takeovers, and strategic alliances in highly concentrated industries such as the production of electrical equipment, computers, semiconductors, automobiles, and aircraft engines underlines the inherent contradictions of corporate strategies and publics policies with regard to "competitiveness" and "competition." Much of the recent transnational alliance activity among erstwhile competitors has involved major companies in industries such as semiconductors and aircraft, where the sheer technological complexity, high initial capital costs, and spiraling cost of technological advance already pose virtually insurmountable barriers to market entry.
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From page 52... ...
At the same time, the committee recognizes that failure to advance effective domestic policies and international negotiations toward the objective of reducing impediments to the competitive globalization of industry and technology is likely to encourage protectionist policies by governments of the advanced industrialized nations. Whether policy obstacles to the free movement of goods, capital, labor, arid technology accumulate gradually or explode in trade or investment wars, they are bound to increase global economic dislocation, delay needed structural adjustment, and impede economic growth and technical advance for all nations.
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From page 53... ...
1990. Global Companies and Public Policy: The Growing Challenge of Foreign Direct Investment.
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