Flows

• Globalisation is the way in which the world has become more interconnected through the development of technology and the spread of trade. Countries connect with each other and become more reliant on each other (interdependence). It helps flows of capital, people, information, and goods move around the world.
• Globalisation is the ever-increasing interconnectedness between countries. It is a process that involves connections, interdependence and flows between different locations.
• 𝙏𝙔𝙋𝙀𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙁𝙇𝙊𝙒𝙎 𝙄𝙉 𝙂𝙇𝙊𝘽𝘼𝙇𝙄𝙎𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉:

  • Commodities, capital (or finance), information, migrants and tourists can all flow more freely between different countries.
  • As the world becomes more globalised, the connections between places are becoming wider and deeper in most of these areas.
• 𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙀𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝘿𝙄𝙂𝙄𝙏𝘼𝙇 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙎:

  • The internet has been a huge facilitator of globalisation.
  • Information flows more freely between different countries, but the internet also allows tourists to discover more places and helps capital and commodities to flow internationally.
  • Logistics companies like DHL and investment companies like Blackrock allow commodities and capital to flow internationally.
• 𝙈𝙄𝙂𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉:

  • A borderless world does not exist because there are still obstacles to migration.
  • The free movement of people is only possible within some trade blocs and within some regions (e.g. The Schengen Area in the EU).
• 𝙏𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙈:

  • Budget airlines have resulted in the huge growth of tourist flows because people are able to travel to different countries at a reasonable cost.
  • Airlines like Ryanair, Wizz Air and Easyjet can let you travel to a different country for as little as £20.
• 𝙈𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏 𝙊𝙁 𝙋𝙀𝙊𝙋𝙇𝙀:

  The free movement of people is only possible within some trade blocs and within some regions. For example, it is easier for someone with an EU passport to move between some EU nations because of the Schengen Agreement.
• 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘿𝙀 𝘽𝙇𝙊𝘾:

  A trade bloc describes a group of countries with an agreement to trade without as many barriers to the movement of goods. It is a type of intergovernmental agreement that usually goes along with other treaties about the free movement of people.
• Flow


  When countries share things with one another
• Flows in globalisation

  • Capital
  • Labour
  • Products
  • Services
  • Information
• Capital flows


  • Movement of money for investment, trade, or business production
• Labour flows

  • Movement of people who move to work in another country
• Product flows

  • Movement of physical goods from one country to another
• Service flows

  • 'Footloose' industries that can locate anywhere without constraints
• Information flows


  • Any type of information moving from one place to another
• Major capital flows occur between

  • Core regions
  • Periphery regions
  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • The World Bank
• Capital flows also occur within core regions
• In the EU, cross border trade in finance has increased due to capital flows
• Capital flows also occur within core regions. Huge capital flows pass through the major stock markets in megacities. Also, in the EU, cross border trade in finance has increased due to absence of barriers
• Labour flows

  Essentially migration
• Types of migration

  • Economic migrants
  • Refugees
  • Asylum seekers
• Economic migrants are people who have moved voluntarily for reasons of work and improved quality of life
• International labour flows are flows from one country to another country. Today, 3-4% of the world’s population are international migrants
• Major labour flows within continents

  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
• Major labour flows between continents

  • Latin America and Caribbean to North America
• Latin America and Caribbean to North America had 26 million people emigrating in 2017, making it the 3rd largest global labour flow and the largest flow from one continent to another. Nearly 22 million migrants are from Latin America, whereas around 4 million are from the Caribbean
• Many countries rely on the flow of highly skilled workers as they utilise their skills
• The NHS is reliant on labour flows; many medical professionals come from abroad such as from India, Pakistan, and the Philippines
• Product flows are the movement of produced goods from the area of production to the area of consumption
• Increased globalisation has caused product flows to become international, meaning products are produced by a country and then transported to another country
• In 2015, the value of world trade of food and manufactured commodities was $25 trillion, demonstrating the extent of these flows
• Factors affecting globalisation will explore the reasons for the shift of global product flows to low income countries
• Emerging economies are causing changes in product flows due to the growth of wealthier, middle-class civilians
• Service industries can flow due to the ability to transfer information in the globalised world
• Global information flows have grown rapidly since the 90s
• Information flows occur for different purposes and occur across many platforms
• New innovations in transport

  Have allowed for more flows of labour, enabling people to move to different countries quicker and cheaper than ever before
• High speed rail has allowed for flows of people internationally as it is cheaper and faster to move to a desired country
• International customs control the flow of people and goods in and out of countries to ensure security within the country
• Communication technologies have allowed flows of information, services, and capital to accelerate