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    IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON

    AUSTRALIAS WELFARE ECONOMY

    SUBMITTED TO:

    MS. AYESHA RAHMAN

    (FACULTY: POLITICAL SCIENCE)

    SUBMITTED BY:

    SURBHI GUPTA

    SEMESTER 4-A

    ROLL NO.153

    HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

    Raipur (C.G)

    Submitted on: 12.10.2012

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    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Declaration.........................2

    Introduction........................3

    Hypothesis.........5

    Globalisation and its Impact......................................5

    Globalisation in Australia..............7

    Australia as a Welfare State......................8

    Concerns about Globalisation......12

    Addressing concerns about Globalisation........14

    Conclusion and Suggestions15

    Bibliography.................16

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    "My guiding principle is that prosperity can be shared. We can create wealth together. The

    global economy is not a zero-sum game."

    - J ulia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia

    INTRODUCTION

    The Australian economy over recent years can be said to have had a remarkable performance

    in the past few years. It is the world's 12th-largest economy and has the world's fifth-highest

    per capita income. Despite the global financial crisis that shook the world, the Australian

    economy has outperformed every major advanced economy and is expected to continue to

    perform more strongly than these economies over the next two years.1

    Globalisation has largely benefited the Australian economy. Due to abundance of natural

    resources and a low population, Australia has become a major exporter of agricultural

    products, particularly wheat and wool, minerals such as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the

    forms of liquefied natural gas and coal, thus, giving them a world market of over 6.5 billion

    people. Australia's main exports have come from raw materials such as minerals and produce

    which accounts for approximately 50 percent of their exports. The other 50 percent of their

    exports are secondary goods (those which have been manufactured /processed) and tertiary

    services. On the importation ground, Australia imports a number of primary, secondary and

    tertiary products and services. Crude petroleum makes up for most followed by a majority of

    secondary goods like cars, computers etc. Most of their tertiary imports are travel-related,

    including travel, transportation and insurance. Prior to the passing of the Australia Act, 1986

    Australia traded mostly with the United Kingdom and Europe because of their ties to the

    British Empire. In current times, Australia's largest export markets are Japan,China, the US,

    South Korea, and New Zealand.

    Globalisation has, in general been positive for this country. Post -1986 the pro-globalisation

    policies of the government, such as reductions in trade barriers and increasing foreign

    investment encouraged Australian firms to develop new technology and be innovative and

    efficient in production. In addition, the rapid import rate has been matched by a substantial

    export growth with Australias trade participation as a proportion of GDP is now more than

    three times higher than it was in the mid-1970s.

    1http://www.budget.gov.au/2012-13/content/bp1/html/bp1_bst1.htm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
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    Australias economic transformation in terms of exports can be underpinned to exporting

    commodities rather than manufactures, which other countries more readily import at lesser

    costs. Therefore, in certain important areas, globalisation has been strongly associated with

    threatening the survival of the competition facing trade-exposed manufacturing industries.

    Given the fact that Australia is widely considered as a globally integrated society (especially

    through trade), there have been efforts to stop or reverse this process is of concern. These

    have been extended as a backlash against the adverse consequences of globalisation and the

    increasing competition from emerging markets.

    Therefore, scrutiny of Australias position becomes more crucial to address these concerns .

    The paper seeks to establish this by, firstly, introducing the concept of globalization,

    particularly economic globalisation. Secondly it splits the impact of globalization in Australia

    along the lines of trade, investment, technology, finance and labour and analyses the changes

    over the last 20 years as a result of the global economy. It, then, proceeds to discuss the

    implications of these changes on economic indicators under four heads that is growth,

    unemployment, Government policy, and distribution of income.It discusses the concept of a

    welfare state as established by Australian polity and the perceived concerns to breakdown of

    this on account of globalisation. These concerns are evident in Australia and many other

    developed countries about aspects ofglobalisation and threaten to erode community support

    for the policies and institutions needed for further improvements in living standards and

    reductions in poverty.Lastly, the paper summarizes the impact of the pro-globalization stance

    of the Australian government on its economy and evaluates whether Australia today can be

    considered as a successful globally integrated welfare economy.

    HYPOTHESIS

    The 21st Century has seen unparalleled advances in global integration of world economies.

    The benefits of liberalized trade and investment, as well as increased domestic competition,

    have been apparent in Australias improved economic performance. Yet there are concerns

    evident in Australia and many other developed countries about aspects of globalization, and

    particularly those relating to widening inequality and deepening poverty.

    The hypothesis made by the author in this paper is that the concerns that are perceived to be

    caused by economic globalisation in Australia are capable of being addressed by policy

    reforms by the Government and are not in conflict with welfare model of the State.

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    REVIEW OF LITERATURE

    Some commentators have given the broadest possible scope to the term 'globalisation'. For example,

    A. Prakash, 'Grappling with Globalisation: Challenges for Economic Governance', World Economy,

    24 (4), April, 2001, p. 546 writes that 'globalisation is a multi-faceted phenomenon impacting on

    economic, political, and social spheres of human existence'. The problem, with this type of description

    is that it tells us where to look for globalisation, but does not tell us what drives the phenomenon.

    Others appear to think of globalisation as a set of phenomena that accompany one another with no

    aspect being more important or significant than others. For example, M. Wolf, 'Will the Nation-State

    Survive Globalisation', Foreign Affairs, 80 (1), January-February 2001, p. 179 writes that 'numerous

    factors distinguish today's globalizing journey from past ones ... The distinctions include more rapid

    communications, market liberalization, and global integration of the production of goods and

    services'. In other accounts of globalisation commentators distinguish one characteristic of

    globalisation as giving rise to the others, or they restrict the overall reference of the term

    'globalisation'. Some commentators locate the root of globalisation in the advance of global

    communications networks. These definitions usually extend beyond communications technology to

    other areas such as economics and politics but they locate the foundation of globalisation in

    developments in this area. Other definitions of globalisation simply assume that the term refers solely

    to economic phenomena. For example, J. Pires-O'Brien, 'The Misgivings of Globalisation',Contemporary Review, 277, November, 2000, p. 267 writes that 'globalisation refers not to a fully

    interconnected world market, but simply to the increasing interconnections of markets of different

    countries due to the growing trend of liberalisation of trade, capital and services'. Some commentators

    understand disagreements over the desirability of globalisation solely in economic terms, for example,

    S. Eslake, What is Globalisation? Fact Versus Fiction', Policy, 16 (1), Summer, 2000-01, p. 61 writes

    that 'to some, globalisation is synonymous with "the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually

    every country in the world" as Thomas Friedman put it in The Lexus and the Olive Tree. To others ...

    it means not only "free-market capitalism", but also environmental degradation, child labour,genetically modified foods and the spread of American culture ...' Others understand disagreements

    over the desirability of globalisation to reach across a broad range of phenomena. For example,

    Robert Samuelson's description cited in K. Rudd, 'Social Democratic Responses to Globalisation',

    Sydney Papers, 12 (4), Spring, 2001, p. 16 writes that 'at the edge of a new century, globalisation is a

    double-edged sword: a powerful vehicle that raises economic growth, spreads new technology and

    increasing living standards in rich and poor countries alike, but also an immensely controversial

    process that assaults national sovereignty, erodes local culture and tradition and threatens economic

    and social stability'. The concerns have been analyzed across a broad range and in context of Australia

    with the help of Annual Report by WTO (1999-2000): Australia in the global economy, 2011 Budget

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    Overview, Commonwealth of Australia and the papers Pusey, M. (2003). The experience of middle

    Australia: The dark side of economic reform, Wiseman, John (1998) Global Nation: Australia and the

    Politics of Globalisation, Melbourne, Cambridge University Press, John Edwards (2000) Australias

    Economic Revolution, Sydney, University of New South Wales Press.

    ECONOMIC GLOBALISATION

    Meaning

    Before outlining the ways in which globalisation has been considered as posing a threat to

    national governments and the communities they represent, we need to be clear about the

    character of globalisation itself. The definitions of globalisation are abound, all dealing with a

    certain aspect of this multi-faceted widely-used concept. Also, the various definitions are

    coloured by the view the scholar/economist/politician subscribes to, be it- unreserved

    cosmopolitanism, cautious cosmopolitanism, or anti-cosmopolitanism. For instance,

    Maude Barlow, Chairperson of The Council of Canadians2 says of globalisation that-:

    Economic globalization is the creation of a single global economy with universal rules set by

    big businessforbig business in which a seamless global consumer market operates on free

    market principles, unfettered by domestic or international laws or standards. whereas,

    Donald Johnston, Secretary-General of the OECD3defines globalisation as not a policy; but

    a process which will affect all aspects of our lives. We may not always like it; after all, it can

    compel us to give up cosy habits. But to stand against it would be sheer folly.

    The broad ambit of globalisation includes economic, social and political aspects. This paper

    limits its focus on the economic aspect of globalisation. Economic globalization is the

    increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid

    increase in cross-bordermovement of goods, service, technology, and capital.4

    It is characterised by the emergence of a global economic society consisting of states andnon-governmental organisations like the International Federation of Red Cross and Red

    Crescent Societies, Amnesty International and CARE, environmental movements like

    Greenpeace, transnational corporations like General Motors, Nestle and Unilever, ethnic

    nationalities like the National Council of Timorese Resistance and multi-state organisations

    2

    in a speech to a Conference on Globalization and the Live Performing Arts, Melbourne, 23 June 20003Globalise or fossilise!, OECD Observer, No. 219, December 1999

    4Joshi, Rakesh Mohan, (2009) International Business, Oxford University Press, New Delhi and New York

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-borderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-border
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    like the European Union, Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum and the United Nations,

    held together by a series of multilateral treaties.

    Thus, it is necessary to point out here that economic globalisation emphasises the

    international consequences of domestic policies and the domestic ramifications of

    international events. It entails 'the localisation of global forces and the internationalisation of

    domestic issues'.5

    IMPACT ON THE WORLD ECONOMY

    Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. Civilizations have had a universal and age-old quest

    for trade and commercial opportunities beyond regional and national boundaries. However, in

    recent times, these activities have significantly vaulted, with increase in the technology and

    capital available to nations.

    There has been an increase in international trade activities throughout the world. World trade

    in goods and services has expanded at nearly double the pace of world real GDP between

    1950 and 2000. In this period, world trade in goods and services (exports and imports) rose

    from barely one-tenth to about one-third of world GDP.6 This trade growth has been

    facilitated by the lowering down of trade barriers by nations.

    In addition, technological advancements are causing natural barriers to break down,

    increasing the intensity of competition and opening new avenues for trade in services.

    Also, Short-term capital movements have increased dramaticallythe average daily

    turnover in foreign exchange markets increased from about US$200 billion in the mid-1980s

    to well over seven times that in 19987, much larger than the value of world trade and long-

    term capital flows.

    Another sign of global integration is the increasing prominence of many goods and services

    that are provided by transnational and multinational companies. The internationalisation of

    production, distribution and investment and, equally important, globalisation of culture has

    also brought about international migration and cultural change.8

    5B. R. Opeskin, 'International Law and Federal States' in B. R. Opeskin and D. R. Rothwell, eds, International

    Law and Australian Federalism, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1997, p. 6.6

    Mussa (2000),7 BIS (1998), WTO (2000)8

    Castles and Miller (1998, p.103)

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    GLOBALISATION IN AUSTRALIA

    Australia till 1986 had amongst the highest tariffs of any country. Post the Australia Act

    which freed Australian polity completely from the British Empire, Australian Government

    opened its economy substantially. This openness of economy to international trade and

    investmentin the post-war period facilitated market integration and development, which can

    be seen upon evaluation of the following indicators of economic development:-

    TRADE: Over the past 20 years, developing countries have increased their share of

    Australian merchandise imports from 24 to 35%. In addition, Australias exports to

    developing countries have grown considerably too. Asian Countries like Singapore, Thailand,

    as a whole take 46% of Australian merchandise exports and purchase more than they sell.

    Apart from primary products, exports of elaborately transformed manufactures have

    increased even faster and accounted for two-thirds of Australias total exports of

    manufactures in 1998-99.This increased flow in trade can be accounted to pro-globalisation

    measures of the Government like reduction in tariffs, competition policy, ACCC, seeking free

    trade agreement with US, ANZCERTA etc.

    INVESTMENT: In the scene of investment, foreign direct investment by building factories

    aboard has helped complement and facilitate trade by establishing a commercial presence

    close to customers. Floating of the Australian dollar has increased capital inflows, and

    allowed a lot more speculation which is made possible due to much more fluctuations in the

    currency. Also, pro-globalisation policies have intertwined the Australian Economy to the

    world such that the countrys growth rates reflect a marked dependency on the global

    economic climate.

    TECHNOLOGY:Technological Developments have been the key consequence as well as a

    driver of this sustained trend towards globalisation. They can be credited with improving

    productivity, making the economy more service based, and more capital intensive.

    In addition, advances in transport, communication and information technologies have been

    significant in reducing the effective distance between markets and vital in reducing costs of

    services. For instance, rapid technological advances have seen the price of computing fall by

    more than 99 per cent in the past 45 years. The cost of a three minute telephone call from

    Australia to the UK fell from about $350 in 1926 (in todays prices) to $13in 1980 and to

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    around 65 cents today. An e-mail via the worldwide Internet is possible for not much more

    than the cost of a local telephone call. Internet sites like Amazon, Ebay have made it easier

    for the exports to be marketed and sold throughout the world via the internet. The increase in

    import competition has caused lowering of inflation levels and consumer prices. These

    technological advancements have, thus, helped integrate the nation island to the larger global

    business network.

    FINANCE: Globalisation in Australia has enabled better and easier access to finance which

    has encouraged economic growth. It has, further, helped in development of the service

    industry. The Government has increased competition with the introduction of non-banking

    financial institutions. As a result, the difference between mortgage rates and the cash rates

    has dropped dramatically which has in turn led to increase in borrowing by households.

    Again, this however, does point out to more interdependency on the global economic market.

    LABOUR: It is the least altered of all the above indicators. However, Australia has been

    marked by a large labour migration especially from Asia into their territory as a result of

    globalisation. This skilled labour has helped improve the quality of the labour-force and

    relationships with foreign businesses which ultimately has raised the countrys level of

    wealth. Globalisation can also be credited with major job creation, especially in the tertiary

    sector, in Australia.

    EFFECT OF GLOBALISATION IN AUSTRALIA

    To understand the effects of globalisation in Australia, it is necessary to examine its impact

    on economic growth, unemployment, government policy and the distribution of wealth and

    income in Australia.

    EFFECT ON GROWTH: Australian Economy has rapidly grown with the advent of

    globalisation as can be seen by examining the indicators of economic growth. However, what may-be seen as a downside to this phenomenon is the increased susceptibility

    of Australia's growth rates to the effects of economic problems in other countries. Because of

    the increased integration, Australia has now become more vulnerable to its trade partners'

    economic downturns and recessions.

    EFFECT ON UNEMPLOYMENT: Since 1980, there has been a clear correlation between

    the reduction of tariffs and the unemployment rate. From 1990-1998, average tariffs were

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    dropped from 7% to 5% and this saw the amount of goods exported rise from 50,000 units to

    85,000 units from 1990 to 1998. This increase in production resulted in employment rising as

    more labour was required by Australian producers.

    However, in the short term, reducing protection will result in short term unemployment in

    inefficient industries. This comes as a result of inefficient Australian industries being exposed

    to competitive more efficient products of the world market. This causes demand for

    inefficient Australian industries products to fall and causes them to go out of business.

    This is a weak argument however, as we will only see short term unemployment fall. In the

    longer term, resources will be redirected to more efficient industries where a comparative

    advantage is evident, resulting in more efficient industries and therefore more unemployment.

    EFFECT ON GOVERNMENT POLICY: As already mentioned above that in 1990, the

    units of goods imported rose from 50,000 to 85,000 in 1998.This period was marked by the

    government implementing global economic policies and social policies influenced by

    globalization and marked by the rise of neo-classical economics and neo-liberalism. The

    massive increase in the amount of goods exported led the Australian government to adopt the

    policies set out in the Washington consensus. In 1983, the Keating government adopted the

    policies of fiscal discipline (moving from deficit to surplus), trade liberalisation, privatisation

    of government owned enterprises to increase their efficiency, selling of the national bank, and

    deregulation of the financial system.

    EFFECT ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH AND INCOME: In 1968, the

    average tariffs were at 36% and at this time the gini coefficient (index that gives an indication

    to the level of income distribution inequality) was 0.66. In 1997, the average tariff rate was

    4.4% and the gini coefficient had drastically fallen to 0.47 so clearly the effect of

    globalisation in freeing up protection on trade resulted in this decline of the gini coefficient

    from 0.66 to 0.47.

    AUSTRALIA AS A WELFARE STATE

    The Australian welfare state was, historically, based on British system of Keynesian

    economics. Its efforts were directed to protect the family unit of a worker through means of

    wage fixing and protection of wage earners. This was initially established in the Harvester

    Judgement in 1907 whereby a minimum wage was first set based on the needs of a man, wife

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    and two children. For this reason, Australia has been referred to as the wage earners welfare

    state.9

    It was during the early 1970s, that Australia moved to a more comprehensive liberal welfare

    state with some clear elements of social democracy. The Australian Federal Government

    implemented a range of new measures which resulted in reconfiguration of its roles and

    responsibilities so as to implement and foster social as well as industrial rights. Initiatives

    such as income security system being made accessible to previously excluded groups such as

    single mothers, a universal health-care system called Medicare were introduced.Over the following years, other areas of welfare provision such as health, education, social

    services have developed incrementally. Australian social security has expanded to provide

    pensions for widows, people with disabilities and others in need, largely in response to

    lobbying and influence from different interest groups10.

    In addition, Australia exists as a federation of states and territories, with both a federal

    (central) government as well as governments in each of the states and territories. All of these

    jurisdictions include policies and legislation which are directly targeted to specific social

    problems or populations in need. The Federal Government addresses issues of broad-scale

    policy intent and provides funds as untied grants to the states who administer the various

    programs. These arrangements are facilitated and controlled through a series of

    Commonwealth and State and Territory Agreements.

    Some key areas, however, are retained fully within the Federal Government such as the

    income security system, payment of pensions and allowances and the delivery of employment

    services for the unemployed and people with disabilities. Therefore, Australias federal

    structure also helps establish it as a welfare state.

    CONCERNS ABOUT THE THREAT POSED BY

    GLOBALSATIONConcerns about the impact of global forces upon particular countries are as varied as the diversity of

    their specific geographical and historical conditions.

    The following section outlines some specific features of Australia's geographical and historical

    circumstances that have shaped concerns of globalisation's unfavourable impact upon the economy.

    The possession of a small population and resource-rich territory has meant that the development of the

    Australian economy has relied upon foreign sources of capital, either by loan or investment, together

    9 Castles, 198310

    McDonald & Chenoweth, 2006

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    with trade, as a means to resource development. Because of this reliance and its small population

    some commentators have argued that Australia is in danger of becoming a 'branch office' country.11

    Because of the increased integration, it is a concern thatAustralian economy is more vulnerable to

    its trade partners' economic downturns and recessions.

    This has become a major growth-related concern and thus, Globalisation is often portrayed,

    as a race to the bottom.

    With respect to the problem of unemployment, leftists allege that many Australian workers in

    trade-exposed industries have been displaced from their jobs as a result of import

    competition.

    Another major perception of critics of globalisation in Australia has caused growth of

    inequality between people rich and poor and increased the extent of poverty in the world.

    Another claim is that powerful transnational corporations erode Australian sovereignty and

    the government's ability to represent the interests of the national community is not

    sustainable.

    In the face of these perceived concerns, it has been contended by the leftists that Australia has

    experienced a gradual dismantling of the welfare state over the past 20 years due to

    globalisation.

    THE DISADVANTAGES OF ECONOMIC ISOLATIONISM

    In assessing the economic prudence of opposing globalisation, critics should consider the

    possibility that such a decision would endanger the advantages, such as employment that flow

    from foreign investment. A reputation for restricting international flows of capital may

    discourage further investment in Australia. Because Australia runs a current account deficit, it

    requires foreign capital inflows. Furthermore, restrictions on the movement of Australian

    capital offshore infringe the rights of Australian shareholders to dispose of their property as

    they see fit.

    As to claims that powerful transnational corporations erode Australian sovereignty and the

    government's ability to represent the interests of the national community are not sustainable.

    There is no clearer counter of this than the Commonwealth Government's decision to block

    11D. Kitney, 'Woodside: The Verdict: Branch Office Shuts Up Shop',Australian Financial Review, 24 April

    2001.

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    the attempt by Shell to take over Woodside. The Government invoked the Foreign

    Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 that allows it to prohibit foreign takeovers that are

    adjudged to be against the national interest. Governments are certainly limited by economic

    prudence in the frequency with which they invoke the national interest to restrict foreign

    takeovers, a point made by Peter Costello.12However, prudential limits leave the sovereignty

    of national states intact. In answering claims that globalisation has inspired a global race for

    the bottom, it has been argued that investment by transnational corporations is not determined

    solely on considerations of low taxation and labour standards. Claims that globalisation has

    caused an outflow of skilled labour need to be tempered with the observation that these

    population outflows are often temporary, and on return the labour has become more skilled

    for its international experience.13 A case in point is the announcement to return to Australia

    by Nobel Prize laureate Dr Peter Doherty in July 2001. With respect to claims of

    susceptibility as a country in recent times, Australia has not been adversely affected by bad

    investments that fuelled the collapse of the Asian economy in the late 1990s as well as the

    current global financial crisis. This shows the ability of the Australia to guard its economy

    from the effects of globalisation with the help of a stable government and substantial revenue.

    Also, Protection does not preserve existing levels of employment, as the Australian

    experience shows. In the decade to 1984, the effective rate of assistance to the TCF industries

    increased by 12 per cent a year while employment fell by 3 per cent a year. Claims that

    Australia runs the risk of becoming a branch office country as the result of foreign takeover

    of Australia concerns have also been challenged. The primary argument for encouraging the

    merger of BHP with Billiton was the greater access to cutting edge technology that this

    would bring. Engagement with the world ensures that development in Australia keeps abreast

    of advances in the rest of the world.

    Globalisation cannot be claimed to have caused or worsened poverty in Australia. In fact,

    openness to trade and investment and greater access to the markets of developed countries are

    important parts of the solution. The clear policy lesson of the past century is that those

    countries which shut themselves off from the rest of the world have done so at the expense of

    12P. Costello, 'Foreign Investment Proposal-Shell Investment Limited's (Shell) Acquisition of Woodside

    Petroleum Limited (Woodside), Press Release no. 025, 23 April 2001.13 B. Birrell, I. R. Dobson, V. Rapson and T. F. Smith, Skilled Labour: Gains and Losses, Centre for Populationand Urban Research, Monash University, July 2001.

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    the living standards of their own peopleincluding access to basic healthcare, education

    and other community services.14

    It has also been argued that globalisation provides an impetus to governments to change the

    paradigm behind the provision of aid to disadvantaged citizens.15Rather than direct welfare

    payments such as income support, governments are speaking of encouraging higher levels of

    skill in the workforce through education and training programs.

    CONCLUSION

    There is a concern among people that globalisation threatens the overall living standards in

    the economy. However, in practice, by ensuring that an economy plays to its comparative

    strengths rather than tying up resources in activities with poor returns, trade supports higher

    living standards in both developed and developing countries. Trade enables access to cheaper,

    better and different goods and services. It also provides access to new technology and to

    larger markets that allow specialisation and productivity improvement and keeps domestic

    producers on their toes. The market opportunities provided enable the economy to grow

    faster and to increase their purchases from other countries and hence, is pro-welfare.

    The case in point for this is Australia. There has been a remarkable transformation in the

    Australian economy over the course of the 20th Century. As a small open economy, Australia

    has been highly benefitted from increases in world trade. A recent OECD report indicated

    that Australia is the worlds sixth fastest growing economy. It has experienced a higher rate

    of growth than the G7 economies over the mid to late 1990s and well into the 2000's, and

    performed comparatively well through the GFC and global recession as indicated by positive

    GDP growth. In addition, a stable social and political infrastructure is also beneficial in

    attracting investment. The Australian government in the wake of globalisation has

    implemented a number of policies ranging from direct intervention through the

    implementation of minimum conditions to the use of taxes and transfers, to assuage

    impoverishment with the help of initiatives such as income security system being made

    accessible to single mothers, a universal health-care system called Medicare, the Job Network

    14Country case studies sponsored by the World Bank and others from the late 1960s to the early 1980s found

    that self-reliance strategies performed very poorly compared with export-oriented strategies. Much of Africaand Latin America has suffered from poor growth rates while East Asia has prospered with the largest and mostrapid reduction in poverty in history, notwithstanding the temporary setback caused by the recent financial

    crisis.15 D. Soskice, 'The Institutions of Contemporary Capitalism', Centenary of Federation Seminar Series,Parliament House, Canberra, 28 March 2001.

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    and Centre-link systems to address the problem of unemployment.16Therefore, globalisation

    has, in fact, acted as an impetus for good governance and led to a renewed emphasis on the

    social welfare functions of the state in Australia. Australia can therefore be seen as a globally

    integrated welfare economy.

    16A range of options was canvassed on Four Corners, 9 July 2001

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    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    1. Prakash, 'Grappling with Globalisation: Challenges for Economic Governance, World Economy,24 (4), April, 2001, p. 546

    2. M. Wolf, 'Will the Nation-State Survive Globalisation', Foreign Affairs, 80 (1), January-February2001

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