The Consequences of Economic Globalization for Affluent Democracies

Abstract

In recent decades, economic globalization has grown significantly in affluent democracies. Taking this as a point of departure, we review social science research on the consequences of economic globalization for the state, the economy, and civil society. We advocate for a concrete position of empirical scrutiny, between the grand theorists and earlier empirical skeptics, and measure economic globalization as the heightening of international trade and investment. Social scientists have engaged in lively debates surrounding such topics as how globalization affects the welfare state, politics, deindustrialization, inequality, and organized labor. Among the themes that emerge from these debates are the distinct values of within-and betweencountry comparisons and the need for a stronger connection between theoretical accounts of globalization and empirical analyses. At the same time, many aspects of social life have been neglected by recent research on globalization. Throughout, we gauge current consensus and dissensus, identify understudied topics, and suggest directions for future research. 313 Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2007.33:313-334. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by University of California -San Francisco UCSF on 02/04/15. For personal use only.

Homophily, Cultural Drift, and the Co-Evolution of Cultural Groups

“…In many respects, social and cultural trends toward broad cultural integration are increasing (Greig 2002;Brady, Beckfield, and Zhao 2007). Communication technologies, such as phone, fax machine, and now e-mail, make rapid exchange of ideas and information easy across great distances (Rogers 1971(Rogers , 1995.…”

“…Similarly, cultural influences are now regularly shared on a global scale, as international travel, tourism, and education make the world smaller and invite the exchange of cultural traits (McNeill 1988;Foster 1991;Elkins 1997). These trends in the globalization of culture have been furthered by the advent of the Internet (Blossfeld et al 2005;Brady, Beckfield, and Zhao 2007), which provides nearly instantaneous access to people and ideas worldwide. However, the Internet may also be one of the most profound contemporary arenas for understanding the processes of cultural differentiation.…”

Subjective insecurity and the role of institutions

“…In the current literature, we find an increased emphasis on new forms of insecurities and market volatilities generated by processes of globalisation, skill-based technological changes, increased flexibility, changes and the restructuration of the welfare state and the dualisation of the labour market into wellprotected insiders and precarious outsiders (Blossfeld et al, 2011;Brady et al, 2007;Emmenegger et al, 2012;Rueda, 2007;Scheve and Slaughter, 2004;Standing, 2011). Many scholars emphasise the structural increase in levels of unemployment and longterm unemployment (Blanchard, 2006;Nickell et al, 2005), while others focus on the growth in atypical employment patterns and increasing instability of existing jobs across countries (Auer and Cazes, 2000;Kalleberg, 2000;Standing, 2011).…”

Reconciling long-term cultural diversity and short-term collective social behavior

“…The substrate for collective phenomena is being expanded by the increasing connectedness and integration of people across the world (17,18), made possible on one hand by the steady enhancement of communication technologies (18)(19)(20)(21) and on the other hand by the intensification of global trade, worldwide travel, and international education (22)(23)(24). All these factors virtually reduce physical and communication distances among people, irrespective of their cultural traits.…”