[ppi] [ppiindia] For too many, globalization isn't working

** ppi-india **
http://www.iht.com/articles/131401.html

For too many, globalization isn't working
  Juan Somavia IHT

People and profits

GENEVA The globalization debate is at an impasse. Trade negotiations are
stalled. Jobs are disappearing. Financial instability continues. Meanwhile,
politically sensitive issues such as migration and outsourcing are high on
people's concerns, but low on the global problem-solving agenda. We need new
thinking to break the deadlock and bridge the divide.
.
The International Labor Organization established the World Commission on the
Social Dimension of Globalization to help do just that. It is the first
official body to look systematically at the social impact of globalization
and develop a common agenda to make it work for all.
.
President Tarja Halonen of Finland and President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania
chaired the commission, whose 26 members included a Nobel economics
laureate, legislators, social and economic experts, and representatives of
business, organized labor, academia and civil society. Together, they
reflected all sides of the debate. From divergent voices a converging view
emerged: Globalization can and must change.
.
The commission's report acknowledges globalization's potential for good -
promoting open societies, open economies and a freer exchange of goods,
knowledge and ideas. But the commission also found deep-seated and
persistent imbalances in the current workings of the global economy that are
"ethically unacceptable and politically unsustainable."
.
These imbalances are reflected in today's global economy. Since 1990, global
growth in gross domestic product has been slower than in previous decades.
The gap between people's incomes in the richest and poorest countries has
never been wider, having risen from 50-to-1 in the 1960s to more than
120-to-1 today.
.
Globally, unemployment is at its highest level ever. More than one billion
people are either unemployed, underemployed or working poor.
.
In addition, foreign aid is decreasing overall and is far below the
long-standing target of 0.7 percent of GDP - a shortfall of $2.5 trillion
over the past 30 years.
.
Clearly, globalization's benefits are out of reach for far too many people.
The global risks this poses are evident. We must take into account the need
for security - whether that means the concerns of the poor, the anxieties of
the middle-income workers or the uncertainties of business. Although making
globalization fair and inclusive is difficult, it is doable and must become
an urgent world priority. It is as much an issue for people as it is for
nations.
.
There are no simple solutions to these problems, but the commission has
proposed a common-sense agenda for action on a broad front.
.
First, start at home. Everything has been done to facilitate global
exchange - finance, trade, investment - but very little to reinforce local
communities and markets. States and societies themselves are important
actors in making globalization fair. Well-governed countries with strong
representative voices of workers, employers and citizens' organizations are
more likely to expand the advantages and avoid many of the risks of
globalization. We should strengthen our ability to invest and create jobs,
educate our children, organize health care and provide support for families
and displaced workers
.
Second, make it fair. Unbalanced patterns of investment and trade are prime
sources of today's political turbulence. In the developing world, most
foreign direct investment is concentrated in only 12 countries. In the
developed world, many people see investments abroad as the export of jobs.
And labor, worldwide, feels that the rights of capital are better protected
than the rights of workers. Fair rules for trade, capital flows and
commodity prices, and greater access to markets, are needed to provide more
policy autonomy for developing countries. So are a basic level of social
protection and respect for core labor standards.
.
Third, make decent work a global goal. Work is central to the people's lives
and the main test by which they judge globalization. It is the source of
dignity, stability, peace and credibility of governments. Since job creation
goes hand in hand with enterprise development, it underpins private
initiative and investment. And it is key to reducing tensions behind so many
security threats, as well as social challenges, such as migration, mass
youth unemployment, gender inequality and poverty.
.
Fourth, rethink global governance. The multilateral system of international
organizations is not performing well. Too often, the multilateral system
consists of bits and pieces that respond haphazardly and sometimes in
contradiction with one another on basic policy issues. In particular, we are
failing to reach the key balance between economic policies on one side and
social and environmental ones on the other.
.
We need to improve the way global institutions talk to each other and adapt
the post-World War II architecture to 21st-century priorities. The
commission calls on multilateral institutions to develop balanced and
coordinated proposals to achieve a fair and inclusive globalization. It also
urges them to seek new initiatives for forging coherent policies focused on
sustainable global growth, investment and employment creation.
.
Globalization is the result of conscious choices that can be changed to
spread the benefits more fairly. The commission's report provides a way
forward that is difficult and ambitious but necessary and feasible.
.
Juan Somavia is director-general of the International Labor Organization.






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