Why is globalisation under attack? Image copyright Getty Images Free trade and globalisation seem to be under siege from a broad and loud range of opponents. For decades there has been a strong consensus that globalisation brought more jobs, higher wages and lower prices - not just for richer countries but also for developing and poorer nations. But many people, including politicians, are now voicing their anger as they see jobs being taken by machines, old industries disappearing and waves of migration disturbing the established order. You don't have to look far to see the effect of those concerns in recent events. Globalisation: Where on the elephant are you? The Brexit referendum was dominated by concerns over immigration, the rise of Donald Trump has brought back the rhetoric of protectionismin the US and there have been mass protests in Europe over prospective international trade deals.
What is behind this backlash and what can be done to address this crisis of globalisation? 'Free trade is stupid trade' Getty Images. Capital - The rich list: Where the world's wealthiest live. Number of UHNW in 2013: 10,675 Change over 2012: -5.1% Total wealth: $1.5tn At first glance, it looks as though China’s UHNW population is declining. While the country’s rich were hurt by poor performing stock markets last year, long-term trends show it could become the second- or third-wealthiest nation in the world in just a couple of years. The vast majority of China’s wealthy are self-made multi-millionaires, said Seibold. Many are in the manufacturing and export industries, but people in the financial services and technology industries are gaining ground as well. For most of the last decade, the country’s gross domestic product grew by double-digits. Between 2000 and 2010, the price-per-square meter of a home in Beijing has climbed by 180%, according to economic research firm BBVA Research.
Much wealth is also being driven by businesses relationships with the government, said Friedman. “There is just so much wealth being driven there,” he said. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% It’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year.
In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. Economists long ago tried to justify the vast inequalities that seemed so troubling in the mid-19th century—inequalities that are but a pale shadow of what we are seeing in America today.
Some people look at income inequality and shrug their shoulders. First, growing inequality is the flip side of something else: shrinking opportunity. None of this should come as a surprise—it is simply what happens when a society’s wealth distribution becomes lopsided. Outsourced Call Centers Return, To U.S. Homes. How can Scotland cope with China's salmon demands? 10 September 2012Last updated at 19:03 ET By Anne-Marie Bullock Producer, Costing the Earth: Chinese Salmon The Scottish salmon industry had a major boost after China opened its doors to imports - but with the government setting a target to increase salmon production by 50% by 2020, local communities are divided over whether the financial rewards outweigh environmental concerns. "Thousands of people come from all over the world to look at this landscape.
This is the one place in the world you shouldn't put a factory fish farm. " Roc Sandford is the owner of the island of Gometra in the Inner Hebrides - one of the wildest and undeveloped parts of the UK. To get there you have to travel to Mull, summon the small foot ferry to the island of Ulva and then either commission a boat, walk a five mile causeway or, I suppose, swim. There are no roads so a quad bike is the fastest way to get across the island - and the handful of residents live without electricity.
Cashmere trade threat to snow leopards. 23 July 2013Last updated at 13:46 GMT By Melissa Hogenboom Science reporter, BBC News Snow leopards are critically endangered as their natural prey has declined The global demand for cashmere is threatening endangered snow leopards, according to a new report. Domestic cashmere goats in parts of Central Asia have almost tripled in the last 20 years to fuel cashmere demand. The goats are encroaching on the natural habitats of the snow leopard and their natural prey. The authors of the paper, published in Conservation Biology, say that other endangered animals are also at risk.
These include herbivores which compete for the same resources as the goats, such as the antelope Saiga tatarica, the Tibetan chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii) and the Himalayan bharal (Pseudois nayaur) also known as the blue sheep. As the snow leopards' habitats converge with domestic goats, the decline of wild prey can increasingly lead the leopards to hunt the goats. Continue reading the main story Mountain killer.