Globalization: tooMuch or is too Little?

The paper examines the effects of the globalization process in order to assess its advantages and its costs. Integration and growth of the world economy are identified as the principal economic manifestation of globalization. Accordingly, two criteria are adopted to measure its effects: the extent of market segmentation for homogeneous goods and factors price and the volume of international transactions. The paper argues that the developments in information and transport technology have historically increased the speed of adjustment of price and indeed have reduced the segmentation of the markets of goods and factors. Moreover, on the basis of statistical data, it demonstrates that the international trade, by increasing the inter-country interdependence, has been an engine of growth. The globalization process has also caused some negative effects (such as the widening of the disparities in the income among and within the countries) because the mechanism for accommodating disruptive change are not always in place or do not operate smoothly. Therefore, an effective global governance is needed to avoid such effects and to allow all countries to join the globalization process.