Nearshoring

Globalisation has arguably been the dominant economic story of the last three to four decades. In simple terms it reflects a worldwide trend to open up economies and societies, reducing border controls, creating integrated chains of production, and vastly increasing trade. Globalisation has been seen as the engine driving increased prosperity, reduced poverty, and a global expansion of the middle classes. Yet it has also been associated with inequality and a power shift in favour of ‘first world’ governments and corporations. Globalisation is seen by some as an existential threat to smaller nations and communities. Politically, it has generated a bitter debate between supporters and critics. The last 2-3 decades of political upheavals in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Africa, and to an extent Latin America itself, can be seen in terms of a conflict between pro- and anti-globalisation forces.