IB Geography higher level notes
Geo HL Extension Compilation
Measuring Global Interactions
Define Globalisation
The growing interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology
Global participation
Describe and evaluate globalization indices: KOF index, as a measure of global interaction.
Describe how the globalization index may be represented spatially.
KOF Index
Measures economic (trade flows), social and political globalization
Data collected systematically and continuously over time (available on a yearly basis) by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
207 countries
Pros
Overall index of globalization from sub-indices of economic, social and political globalisation
Each sub-index is also made up of different indices
Economic
Actual economic flows
Restrictions
Social
Cultural proximity (hard to measure)
Personal contact
Information Flows
Tries to measure cultural proximity, acknowledges globalization is also a cultural phenomenon
In economic looks at restrictions to globalization, not just that which enables (e.g. hidden import barriers)
Cons
Favours small countries in the economic variable as they are more dependent on international trade (disregards large countries’ contribution to globalization)
E.g. 8 of top 10 countries have small land areas; 7 have less than 8 million people
Ireland and Denmark have limited domestic markets; Singapore and Netherlands lack natural resources etc.
Cultural proximity is hard to measure
International letters may actually favour less globalized countries, as most developed and globalized countries have switched to using electronic means
Embassies, UN missions favour large countries as they have resources to send manpower, also because large countries are more likely to have embassies from elsewhere whereas small regions are grouped
Measuring Global Interactions
Define Globalisation
The growing interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology
Global participation
Describe and evaluate globalization indices: KOF index, as a measure of global interaction.
Describe how the globalization index may be represented spatially.
KOF Index
Measures economic (trade flows), social and political globalization
Data collected systematically and continuously over time (available on a yearly basis) by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
207 countries
Pros
Overall index of globalization from sub-indices of economic, social and political globalisation
Each sub-index is also made up of different indices
Economic
Actual economic flows
Restrictions
Social
Cultural proximity (hard to measure)
Personal contact
Information Flows
Tries to measure cultural proximity, acknowledges globalization is also a cultural phenomenon
In economic looks at restrictions to globalization, not just that which enables (e.g. hidden import barriers)
Cons
Favours small countries in the economic variable as they are more dependent on international trade (disregards large countries’ contribution to globalization)
E.g. 8 of top 10 countries have small land areas; 7 have less than 8 million people
Ireland and Denmark have limited domestic markets; Singapore and Netherlands lack natural resources etc.
Cultural proximity is hard to measure
International letters may actually favour less globalized countries, as most developed and globalized countries have switched to using electronic means
Embassies, UN missions favour large countries as they have resources to send manpower, also because large countries are more likely to have embassies from elsewhere whereas small regions are grouped