Globalization is a multi-dimensional process that is transforming national and global activities and interactions at a rapid rate and in a profound way. The changes encompassed by globalization have far-reaching implications for all aspects of life. The pace, extent, and character of globalization differ among eco-nomic, political, and social dimensions. While there is no single agreed-upon definition of globalization, it is generally understood to be a process in which barriers to the international flow of goods, services, capital, money, and information are being increasingly eroded or eliminated.
There is a contentious debate over the extent of globalization and whether it is a temporary or permanent trend. Some have argued that globalization represents an epochal shift in capitalism that has already been achieved or is inevitable or irreversible. Others have argued that the extent of globalization is exaggerated. Indeed, they assert that globalization is not a new phenomenon but is merely an acceleration within the pro-cess of internationalization of capitalism and the market. These researchers argue that the current level of globalization is not significantly different from that which prevailed in international trade and capital flows between the last decade of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century. Comparisons of this type are always difficult, given the quality of statistical data and the computation of these figures. In con-trast, there are those who perceive today's globalization as a second wave of globalization, which is unprec-edented both in character and the number of countries involved in the global economy. Giddens describes glo-balization as "not only new, but also revolutionary" and points out that it is a multi-faceted process with dif-ferent aspects operating in "contradictory or oppositional fashion." Additionally, some point out that the in-stantaneous availability of news and information on a global scale has essentially created the so-called "global village."
The pace of economic integration, judged by the growth of international trade and capital flows, while un-even since World War II, is accelerating. It grew in the first two decades after 1950, slowed perceptibly in the period from 1974 to 1984, recovered between 1984 and 1989, and has grown rapidly since 1990. The period from 1950 to 1994 was one of steady integration through trade and investment. For the whole of this period, the volume of world trade grew at a rate 1.6 times faster than that of world production, which ranged from a low of 1.2 during the 1970s to a high of 2.8 in the 1990s. Over this 45-year period, the value of world output increased by a factor of 5, while the value of world trade in goods multiplied by a factor of 14. The World Trade Organization (WTO) calculates that the ratio of world trade in goods and services to output increased from 15 to 22 percent between 1974 and 1994 and estimates that it increased from 7 to 15 percent over the pe-riod from 1950 to 1974. In recent years, international trade and capital flows have grown at a faster rate than world gross domestic product (GDP). During the period from 1983 to 1993, there was a 71-percent increase in the volume of world merchandise exports—double the 35-percent growth in world output. Since 1970, flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) have grown at rates in excess of those at which international trade and world output have expanded. International lending has grown prodigiously, with loans increasing from US$59.4 billion per annum from 1976 through 1980 to US$136.7 billion in 1993. It is estimated that 90 per-cent of financial transactions do not serve what economists consider an "economic function."
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