Tag: Globalisation

The principal reason why careful, sometimes even rigorous, scrutiny of foreign takeovers is prudent rather than protectionist is that what happens at headquarters matters.

The disappearance of P & O is a milestone in business organisation – it symbolises the arrival of capitalism without capital

Perhaps the most important single event in modern world history is that in the late 18th century economic growth took off in Western Europe and not in south-east China, despite the apparent similarity of technological and economic development and natural resource availability in the two regions.

Merger Monday has proved that in the merger market, hope springs eternal. The wall of money chasing alternative investments in hope of the returns achieved in the heady 1990s, made it possible to take almost any company private.

The future level of greenhouse gas emissions is governed mainly by the increasing demand for transport and electricity as economic development progresses in developing countries. Rich countries must pay for the research and development which would make developing and running a low carbon infrastructure affordable by poorer countries.

There is no case for putting money in the hands of the government of Zimbabwe and little point in giving it to the government of Congo. The emotive interventions of pop stars and religious leaders has not necessarily advanced the vital cause of poverty reduction.

We in rich countries can make a modest contribution but if the United Nations’ millennium development goals to eradicate poverty are met, which is unlikely, it will be the achievement of the poor, not the rich, and the achievement of individuals, not politicians.

Just as the World Trade Organisation does not manage world trade, the World Bank is not the world's banker and the International Monetary Fund does not manage the world's money, the influence political leaders have over international macroeconomic questions is marginal at best.

In the past, shameful legacies made it difficult to debate central political issues around national identity and immigration. The erosion of these paves way for valuable debate.

EU membership is not a prize, still many refer to it in that way. Ironically, the best way to ensure candidate states adopt economic discipline and economic reform is to keep them perpetually at the EU's doorstep.