The Global Marketplace

The Global Economy

• The global economy is the interconnected economies of the nations of the world.

• We live in a global economy fueled by international trade.

• International trade involves the exchange of goods and services between nations.

• The development of the global economy is often referred to as globalization.

• A multinational corporation is a company that does business in many countries and has facilities and offices around the world.

  • Sony is a multinational corporation.

International Trade

• Trade has several meanings.

• This chapter looks at trade as the activity of buying and selling goods and services in domestic or international markets.

• Domestic trade is the production, purchase, and sale of goods and services within a country.

• World trade is the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries.

• Imports are goods and services that one country buys from another country.

• Exports are goods and services that one country sells to another country.

• Countries can also invest in other nations by opening businesses there.

  • When a country exports more than it imports, it has a trade surplus.

  • When a country imports more than it exports, it has a trade deficit.

• A balance of trade is the difference in value between a country’s imports and exports over a period of time.

• A country can have a trade deficit with one country and a trade surplus with another.

• To specialize means to focus on a particular activity, area, or product.

  • Specialization builds and sustains a market economy.

• A comparative advantage is the ability of a country or company to produce a particular good more efficiently than another country or company.

• Countries have to pay for products and services with currency.

• To trade with another country, businesses and countries must convert their money into that nation’s currency.

  • To do that, their currency is exchanged on the foreign exchange market

  • The foreign exchange market is mostly made up of banks where different currencies are exchanged.

• Each country’s currency has a value that is different from those of other countries.

• The price at which one currency can buy another currency is called the exchange rate.

  • Companies follow the change in exchange rates to find the best prices for products

Global Competition

Protectionism and Free Trade

• Protectionism is the practice of the government putting limits on foreign trade to protect businesses at home.

• Reasons to restrict trade include the following:

  • Foreign competition can lower the demand for products made at home.

  • Companies at home need to be protected from unfair foreign competition.

  • Industries that make products related to national defense (such as satellites, aircraft, and weapons) need to be protected.

  • The use of cheap labor in other countries can lower wages or threaten jobs at home.

  • A country can become too dependent on another country for important products such as oil, steel, or grain.

  • Other countries might not have the same environmental or human rights standards.

• To limit competition from other countries, governments develop trade barriers

  • A tariff is a tax placed on imports to increase their price in the domestic market.

  • A quota is a limit placed on the quantities of a product that can be imported.

  • An embargo is a ban on the import or export of a product.

• Economic or foreign policy often determines which countries trade with each other.

• Free trade occurs when there are few or no limits on trade between countries.

• To reduce limits on trade, nations form trade alliances

  • In a trade alliance, several countries merge their economies into one huge market.

• Some of the major trade alliances in the world today are:

  • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

  • European Union (EU)

  • Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)