Research on poverty, inequality and globalization
in developing countries may be categorized under the following headings.
Theoretical and conceptual. This includes
discussions of the plausible links between poverty, inequality and
globalization, as well as the theoretical literature on trade, growth
and development.
Cross-country regressions. Usually related
to trade and growth, or growth and inequality. Sometimes directly
examining trade and poverty.
CGE analysis. There is a substantial body
of literature that employs CGE methods, however I do not include them
here. See Reimer (2002) for a review of these and other simulation based
methods.
Micro studies. These examine specific links
between globalization and poverty or inequality, rather than trying
to determine the net impact on the economy as a whole. They have
largely analyzed wage data for the formal sector, there has been some
work on the trade-offs between the formal and informal sectors, and
there is a need for more work on rural poverty.
Partial Equilibrium/Cost of Living. This category,
coined by Reimer, describes the large number of studies that use household
expenditure data to estimate the impact of certain income of price
shocks that may result from globalization. I do not include papers in
this category, once again see Reimer (2002) for a survey.
General and Conceptual Discussions of Poverty, Inequality
& Globalization
•Aisbett, E. (2004) Why
are Critics So Convinced that Globalization is Bad for the Poor?Forthcoming in Globalization and Poverty, edited by Ann
Harrison, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Mass. Previously
entitled Globaization, Poverty and Inequality: are the criticims vague,
vested, or valid?
•Graham, C. (2001) Stemming
the Backlash Against Globalisation. Brookings
Policy Brief No. 78. This paper looks at the perceptions of upward
mobility of people in developing countries as a way of understanding
why globalization is not as popular as economists expect it to be.
The World Bank
GroupData & Statistics.
Extensive website of World Bank Data including World Development
Indicators. The Data by Country and Data by Topic pages also have
good links to other sources of data.
Global Trade Analysis
Project Purdue. GTAP produces a publicly available and
regularly updated data set and CGE model tailored for the analysis of
trade policy changes.
Korten, D.C. “When Corporations Rule
the World”, 2nd ed. Berrett-Khoeler, San Francisco.
Widely acknowledged as the Bible of globalization's dissenters.
Korten is equally suspicious of both big government and big corporations.
He is strongly in favor of both democracy and markets, but argues that
democracy only works well at the local level, and markets need government
regulation.
Trade Observatory
Website(formerly known as WTO watch). Centered on trade agreements
and institutions, but a high quality website.
Oxfam
International. Oxfam has a very broad range of interests,
but it produces some of the best quality and most balanced critiques
of the current global trading system. Searchable website of their statements
and publications. See in particular “Rigged Rules and Double Standards:
trade, globalisation and the fight against poverty.”
ATTAC. ATTAC
is a very international network of academics and intellectuals,
the website includes searchable archive of their newsletters.
Project for the First People's Century.
Rojas is an academic and consultant. His website
contains an impressive set of links to papers, publications, data
sources, and other relevant websites.