Definitions

• Capital flows


  The movement of money for the purpose of investment, trade or to produce goods/provide services. Usually regarded as investment into a production operation.
• Globalisation


  A process by which national economies, societies and cultures have become increasingly integrated through the global network of trade, communication, transportation and immigration.
• International trade


  The exchange of capital, goods and services across international borders. Inbound trade is defined as imports and outbound trade as exports.
• BRICS


  An acronym used to identify a group of countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - whose economies have advanced rapidly since the 1990s.
• Diaspora


  A large group of people with similar heritage or place of origin who have moved and settled in places all over the world.
• Leakage (economic)


  Refers to a loss of income from an economic system. It most usually refers to the profits sent back to their base county by transnational corporations - also known as profit repatriation.
• MINT


  An acronym referring to the more recently emerging economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.
• Containerisation


  A system of standardised transport that uses large standard-size steel containers to transport goods. The containers can be transferred between ships, trains and lorries, enabling cheaper, efficient transport.
• Protectionism


  A deliberate policy by government to impose restrictions on trade in goods and services with other countries - usually done with the intention of protecting home-based industries from international competition.
• Tariffs


  A tax or duty placed on imported goods with the intention of making them more expensive to consumers so that they do not sell at a lower price than home-based goods - a strategy of protectionism.
• Conglomerates


  A collection of different companies or organisations which all report to one parent company - most transnational corporations are conglomerates.
• Economies of scale


  The cost advantages that result from the larger size, output or scale of an operation. Savings are made by spreading the costs or by rationalising operations.