Globalization and Canadian society : rhetoric or reality

• Main Author: Urmetzer, Peter Robert
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Globalization > Economic aspects; Canada > Economic conditions; Canada > Social conditions; Canada > Commerce
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/10106

Over the past decade, the topic of globalization has infiltrated both public and academic debates. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate whether the growth in the discussion of globalization is justified by an equivalent increase in the interaction of economies. The focus of this dissertation is on economic globalization and specifically how it affects Canada. Evidence of cross-border 'flows' is presented in three parts. One, the trade of goods is traced from Confederation (1867) to the present, showing that contemporary levels of trade are not unprecedented. Furthermore, the data reveal that the bulk of the increase in Canada's trade since the Second World War has been with the United States. There are also strong indications that as the economy is becoming more service oriented, it will also become less trade dependent. Two, statistics on foreign direct investment (FDI) reveal that foreign ownership in Canada is at an all-time historical low. Three, the stock of portfolio investments (stocks and bonds) owned across borders is also not, historically speaking, at particularly high levels. Overall, when foreign direct and portfolio investment are combined, the data show that only a small percentage of Canada's wealth is owned by foreign investors and, likewise, only a small portion of Canada's wealth is located outside of its borders. Another claim found in the globalization literature is that the nation state is weakening or disappearing altogether. However, once subjected to scrutiny, this claim, too, is difficult to sustain. Government expenditures have increased dramatically since the Second World War and show few signs of abating. For the fiscal year 1996/97, government expenditures amounted to approximately half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), indicating a general levelling of expenditures since the mid-1970s. More importantly, the globalization literature has unfailingly ignored the welfare-state side of government spending, arguably the most significant development in the political economy of the nation state in the 20th century. To bridge this gap, three sectors of the welfare state — education, health, and social services — are examined in detail. Lastly, an alternate explanation for globalization is put forward. Capital, it is argued, has made a concerted attack on the welfare state, utilizing high interest rates and high unemployment to discipline labour. Although having suffered a few scratches and dents as a consequence, the welfare-state has resolutely endured.