The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting for the year 2019 concluded recently, after five days of intense discussions on challenges plaguing the global economy at present. These included concerns regarding climbing inequality, escalating US-China trade tensions, and climate change. The theme chosen for this year’s meeting was Globalization 4.0, a subject that carries a substantial cultural dimension.
Globalization is a process propelled by technology and enhanced through the exchange of ideas, migration of people, and movement of goods. It stands in contrast to Globalism, an ideology that assigns priority to the neoliberal global order over national interests. In addition, the meeting saw the signing of a ‘Digital Declaration’. The declaration urges businesses to protect the privacy of digital citizens, handle personal data with transparency and security, make significant strides in combating cyber threats and ensure that everyone is able to participate in the emerging digital economy, while also fighting online harassment.
Exploring the Waves of Globalization
Globalization has seen four significant waves. Globalization 1.0 was initiated before the First World War, powered by a historic decrease in trade costs when steam and other mechanical power sources made it possible to consume goods made far away. This wave of globalization received little to no support from governments and global governance was pretty much non-existent.
Globalization 2.0 came after the Second World War and combined trade in goods with complementary domestic policies. While the market was tasked with maintaining efficiency, governments took the responsibility for ensuring justice. On an international scale, this era saw the establishment of institutional and rule-based governance in the form of entities such as the UN, IMF, World Bank, GATT/WTO, and specific agencies like the Food and Agricultural Organisation and International Labour Organisation.
Globalization 3.0 or hyper-globalization, coined by Arvind Subramanian, gave rise to a new manufacturing world where high-tech was combined with low wages, leading to factories crossing borders.
The latest wave, Globalization 4.0, is a fresh stage of globalization involving pioneering technologies like artificial intelligence, contributing significantly to the information technology explosion. This wave shrinks distances, democratizes borders, and brings people from all around the globe closer together.
About World Economic Forum (WEF)
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation established in 1971, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The forum, recognized by Swiss authorities as an international institution for public-private cooperation, has set its mission as “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”. Klaus Schwab is the founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF.
| Report | Description |
|---|---|
| Global Competitiveness Report | Monitors performance of countries based on 12 categories called ‘pillars of competitiveness’. |
| Global IT Report | Examines increasing proliferation of technology and effects on advancing global prosperity. |
| Global Gender Gap Report | Aims to measure gender equality. |
| Global Risk Report | Lists potential future threats ranging from geopolitical tensions to environmental degradation and Fourth Industrial Revolution disruptions. |
| Global Travel and Tourism Report | Measures factors and policies that enable sustainable development of travel and tourism sector. |
Major Reports Published by WEF
The WEF regularly publishes several critical reports. The Global Competitiveness Report, for instance, gauges the performance of countries based on a set of 12 categories termed as the ‘pillars of competitiveness’. The Global IT Report is a joint publication by the WEF, INSEAD, and Cornell University that investigates the increasing spread of technology and its impact on advancing global prosperity. Other key reports include the Global Gender Gap Report, Global Risk Report, and the Global Travel and Tourism Report.