Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 05/2009

Germany and Globalization

Daniel S. Hamilton, Joseph P. Quinlan

November 2008

Center for Transatlantic Relations

Abstract

Globalization is changing all of our lives as the pace of economic interdependence grows between developed and emerging countries. Debate thrives about whether globalization has been good or bad for European consumers, workers, companies and governments and what are the prospects in the future. In a dynamic and uncertain world currently beset by a global financial crisis and a looming recession can Europe act to take advantage of the opportunities created by globalization and mitigate its challenges? The Executive Council of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU commissioned the study Globalization & Europe: Prospering in the New Whirled Order from Daniel Hamilton and Joseph Quinlan to contribute to the debate about globalization and to help shape Europe’s response. Given the huge importance of Germany not only in Europe but also in the global economy, the Executive Council decided to take a closer look at Germany. We asked the authors to take a series of metrics and measure the impact of globalization on Germany’s consumers, workers, companies and governments. Critically, as we are still in the midst of financial turmoil, the authors look at the relationship between globali