Why has Africa not benefited from globalisation to the same extent as other countries? - Jeff Xi Globalisation for the last three decades has generated intense debates, public demonstrations, and heated street protests. Globalisation is a term which has been used to describe and explain many worldwide phenomena. It has been given positive connotations by those who advocate greater economic integration across national borders, while it has been fiercely criticized by those who see it as a threat to social connections and as the advancement of unrestrained capitalism, which undermines the Welfare State. Many would argue the ‘golden age’ of globalisation is over. Today’s trade tensions has been under way since the financial crisis in 2008-09. International investment, trade, bank loans and supply chains have all been shrinking or stagnating relative to world GDP. Globalisation has given way to a new era of sluggishness. Since its very first introduction three decades ago, globalisation has evolved into a complex phenomenon, for which in today’s world involve many different factors in the economic, social, and cultural spheres. Rapid improvement in transportation and communication technology and the liberalisation of trade restrictions and foreign investment have been the major factors that has enabled the globalisation process. The explosive improvement in transportation technology has played a critical role in faster distribution of goods across long distances at lower costs. Immense improvements in containerisation has allowed radically lowered cargo transport charges. For example, over the last 25 years, sea transport unit costs have decreased by over 70%, while air-freight costs have fallen by 3 to 4% year-on-year. The result has been a boost in trade flows, as transport costs are now less likely to cancel out the gains. International migration has increased due to globalisation; Since 2005, the number of travelers crossing international borders each year has risen by around half, to 1.2 billion. The basis of globalisation is foreign trade movement of goods and people are vital for globalisation. Information and communication technology have also played a major role in globalisation, as the number of people using the internet has increased from 900,000 to more than 3 billion. Accordingly, the internet gives all firms, both domestic and TNCs alike, easier access to foreign markets. Liberalisation of foreign trade and investment policy has speeded up the globalisation process. Another crucial factor that boosted if not enabled globalisation is the reduction and removals of trade barriers, carried out by the WTO (World Trade Organisation), as well as the construction of new trade blocs such as the European Union (EU). Globalisation is no longer a new concept to the world, but Africa is yet to benefit from the effects of globalisation. The continent has been blessed with the natural advantage of having large reserves of oil, but it is still plagued with criminality, corruption, and autocracy. Africa as a continent is one of the biggest exporters in the world, with a GDP of more than 6.814 trillion dollars in 2018. Despite all the apparent wealth and resources, its poverty rate is at an astonishingly high 41%; the income inequality becoming a huge issue in most African countries. Apart from brief spurts of growth in the recent decades, this integration into the global economy does not seem to have led to sustained development. As the of Secretary of the UN have once said, ‘globalisation is not a tide that lifts all boats.’ He argued that even those who benefit from globalisation feel threatened by it.
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