The Economic And Social Effects Of Globalization On Jamaica

“The imposition of structural adjustment programs in the Third World since the 1970s has been characterized as a war against the poor, a process of [neo] recolonization” (Turner, 1994: 37). This statement is particularly applicable to the country of Jamaica. The island has been susceptible to a variety of neocolonial acts including the presence of multinational corporations, structural adjustment programs, and loan organizations that have sucked Jamaica’s economy dry. This neocolonial presence has devastated the population in more ways than one. It is apparent that neocolonialism has had and continues to have a large impact on society as a whole in Jamaica. This

That this was also the decade in which globalization came into full swing is more than a minor inconvenience for its advocates” (Rodrick). If globalization is supposed to present an advantage to developing countries, why have there been so many setbacks? Indeed, both sides will have its winners and losers regardless of which side of the development coin they live on, but for the most part globalization has lifted millions out of poverty, improved the standard of living, and increased life expectancy rates all while keeping developed nations relatively competitive to their developing counterparts. Globalization’s value is that it seeks to create an economic equilibrium in the world, where parties are free from barriers and can benefit from one another through a more efficient allocation of resources. This allows all participating nations to contribute to an integrated economy and where all nations willing to embrace globalization have the potential to benefit. Regardless, the path to successful integration to the global economy has not always been easy. There is contention towards globalization as some argue that it is detrimental to developed nations, while many developing countries that were forced to hastily open up their markets and integrate failed. However, if implemented properly, globalization has proven that it can benefit all parties involved and that the potential gains outweigh the losses.

Like many other aspects of the Jamaican way of life, colonialism has shaped the way the media in Jamaica functions, but the country has managed to maintain large elements of its culture.

Socially, globalization impacts the lives of people by impacting their work, their families, and their societies. This is because globalization affects the security of a country, its culture, and identity by introducing new ways of thinking and living. In the article, The Case for Contamination, the author Kwame Anthony Appiah, observes

“Life and Debt” is a documentary produced and directed by Stephanie Black, which describes the impact of international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in small developing countries. (About Life and Debt) The documentary focuses mainly in the repercussions of financial policies imposed in Jamaica and its effects on its citizens. Throughout the film, Black also emphasizes the different industries affected by these international institutions. From the agricultural activity to the construction of a new Free Trade Zone in Kingston, developing countries such as Jamaica did not obtain the aid they were seeking for. Instead, most of these organizations refused to help the country due to its declining economy.

The world is constantly becoming smaller and smaller as time progresses. A process of globalization is rapidly turning the world as we know it into economic opportunity waiting to be exploited. A large factor in this process is due to the advent of technology which is becoming more and more readily available to lesser developed countries. Countries such as Jamaica and other LDC’s are primary targets of economic globalization. In the film Life and Debt by Stephanie Black, we see the effects globalization has on Jamaican culture, industry, and agriculture.

Globalization is when international organization influence on other countries. It seems that Haiti is a country with a strong dignity that oppose globalization as a force that have an effect on most aspects of economic experience. However, globalization has had both positive and negative effects. Globalization has impacted poverty in Haiti by free trading and many workers works unpaid for many international factories. For many years Haiti was the center of tourism, which was helping the economy, but now it has declined as a source of income . Official data say Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere( Global Finance) . The free trade promoted by global financial organizations has involved the country's economy in a deep retrocession that obliges to neglect barriers and not obstructive goods of developed countries.

One aspect that demonstrates the effects of globalization in Antigua is the never ending poverty of Antigua. Even though a vast amount of tourists come to Antigua one may think that it would be flourishing and rich with wealth; however, in reality the natives and the land of Antigua are extremely poor. Another aspect would be how Antigua is surrounded by a sea and an ocean, but continued to be in a drought. While the natives still have to watch every drop of water they drink, tourists waste water as if Antigua’s has hundreds of puddles waiting to be

If we were to lay the topic “effects of globalization” on the table, what assumptions might arise? Well, one might point out whether globalization can be considered as a positive thing or negative thing towards different cultures. The article “Case for contamination” gives insight on the author’s views and arguments towards globalization and how that intertwined with the people in Ghana.

     The documentary Life and Debt portrays a true example of the impact economic globalization can have on a developing country. When most Americans think about Jamaica, we think about the beautiful beaches, warm weather, and friendly people that make it a fabulous vacation spot. This movie shows the place in a different light, by showing a pressuring problem of debt. The everyday survival of many Jamaicans is based on the economic decisions of the United States and other powerful foreign countries.

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the word ‘globalization’ has become an increasingly prominent feature of political, social, and economic discussion in academic and policymaking circles, as well as in the media. The processes and outcomes of globalization drew attention and debates that had one thing in common. The research shows that nearly everyone agrees that globalization is a trend that is changing the face of the world, and as a result the world society lives in a more ‘globalized’ world. Nearly two and a half decades passed since 1990s, and studies have been conducted to examine the causes and consequences of globalization. Moreover, nearly every person experiences some type of globalization and can testify firsthand the effects it has on their life, society, and the state. The analysis of the effects that globalization dynamics have on the world society indicates that globalization has a significant positive impact via spreading opportunities and wealth across nations, stimulating innovation and productivity, enhancing the economic development of poorer countries, and helping to improve living standards.

Situated in the context of Jamaica’s colonial past, Black provides a meaningful foundation for the discourse of debt and development in Jamaica. In so doing, she asks her audience—most likely intended for young and well-off U.S. citizens—to think critically about tourism in developing countries and the effects of U.S. international involvement. Throughout this expose of exploitative U.S. involvement, Black highlights the resilience of those suffering from IMF reforms. The film uses juxtaposition to blames the IMF for the deteriorating situation in Jamaica. In one scene, Black shows the U.S. hypocrisy of forcing Jamaican to lower tariffs while flooding their market with highly subsidized powdered milk. Subsequently, Black cuts to an interview with a representative from the IMF who continues to justice these policies despite realities on the ground. Moreover, the film questions the Western assumption that its current economic model is the best. To be sure, the U.S. has not always pursued a global integrated economic platform. For many years, the U.S. was highly isolationist as it industrialized and built up national

Globalization has had a significant impact on the lives of women in the developing nations, which we will further examine in the two countries – Bangladesh and Kenya. In this paper, Globalization is defined as “a complex economic, political, cultural, and geographic process in which the mobility of capital, organizations, ideas, discourses, and people has taken a global or transnational form (Valentine Moghadam 1999). Globalization has more negative effects on women in third world countries such as Kenya and Bangladesh. Corporations hire people in the third world countries, due to the cheap labor force. Corporations like to hire more women than men in the cheap labor force, because women “work in labor intensive industries at lower wages

Many historians and sociologists have identified a transformation in the economic processes of the world and society in recent times. There has been an extensive increase in developments in technology and the economy as a whole in the twentieth century. Globalization has been recognized as a new age in which the world has developed into what Giddens identifies to be a “single social system” (Anthony Giddens: 1993 ‘Sociology’ pg 528), due to the rise of interdependence of various countries on one another, therefore affecting practically everyone within society.

Globalization is defined as a worldwide development, the process of spreading ideas. More recently, globalization has become more focused on economics, the spreading of capitalism and opening international trade. Globalization through the past 50 years has developed a bad reputation, one that does not benefit countries the way people thought it would. Joseph E. Stiglitz, in his book, Globalization and Its Discontents, stresses that modern globalization is a good thing, but has not been done correctly in the past few decades. The ideas behind globalization have the potential to benefit the world, specifically developing countries. Stiglitz goes into detail about how the problem falls with the misguided attempts of the international economic institutions to solve developing countries’ economic problems. Something has gone very wrong with globalization, and the purpose of this book is to shed some light on where it went wrong. Stiglitz presents the problems with the international economic institutions’ damaging policies and their effects using ethnographic field work and historically comparative methods.