INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL FINAL

ASSIGNMENT

Professor: Simon Robinson

Student ID number: 1109100051

Student Name: Yu-Wen WANG

ENHGLISH DEPARTMENT
 Question 1: Summarize the key arguments made against free

trade. How far do you agree/disagree?

Some economists have made the case against free trade based on

measures of possible surpluses in production. As far as I know

this argument is exactly one of the significant disadvantages of

free trade. I am agree with this idea, due to the fact that the

world is changing so fast and innovative products are now

appearing every day. The problem is that while free trade can

bring many benefits, even spikes in economic growth, it is not

stable and sustainable enough. Normally after few peaks the

domestic economy would start to disintegrate because of this.

Free trade not only easily cause the unemployment, but it also

allows firms to employ people by offering very poor working

conditions and low wages while producing their products.

Companies will choose to outsource their production to these

cheaper developing countries rather than produce their products

in developed countries in order to gain more profits. This is a

terrible thing because today there are more and more people in
the world, yet well-educated students are not paid fairly due to

this kind of market mechanism. Free trade may bring a lot of

money and benefits to one group of people, but it can also bring

a lot of environmental and economic damage to others. For

example, overproduction and sluggish sales mean that large

amounts of goods and resources are wasted and the pollution

they cause is not accounted for in the costs. These negative

effects will once again be taken over by those who are otherwise

in a vulnerable position.

Question 2: Explain the environmental Kuznets curve and its

relationship to globalization?
Environmental Kuznets curve illustrates that the relationship

between environmental damage and the economic growth. As

for now, it is still not possible for developing countries to

expand their economies without deteriorating the environment.

As a rule, the more profit a country makes, the more damage the

environment suffers, because it is impossible to produce or

deliver merchandises without emitting greenhouse gases or

carbon. However, there is a turning point on the curve: Once the

country gains enough money, they can start using more eco-

friendly means to generate the power or to produce

merchandises. Their economic growth and rate of environmental

damage will therefore be inversely proportional. Globalization is

not really that profitable for each country or for the whole; it

only benefits certain countries, such as China and the United

States. More specifically, globalization has made it more

profitable for the wealthy international firms and has taken

advantage of the underprivileged groups. This has led to the fact

that there are still many developing countries that have

contributed to globalization but have not been paid fairly for it.
As a result, globalization has only kept countries ahead of the

turning point of the environmental Kuznets curve, and their

negative impact on the environment continues to outweigh the

positive one. According to the curve, we can know that the

environment will be destroyed as the globalization develops.

Most of the environmental damage is irreversible and humanity

may not be able to face the consequences if we do not change

the way we do business.

Question 3: In your own words, describe the key common

features of developing countries that have been unable to move

from low income to medium/high income status.

I believe that the biggest common feature of developing

countries that makes them hard to become a rich one is that

there are too many restrictions on the international trade,

diplomacy, entry and exit. For example, North Korea and South

Korea have a significant difference in economic situations and

the biggest factor being the government's diplomacy and

policies regarding economic activities. Due to the influence of

globalization, it is not possible for a developing country to make

a good fortune without trading with other countries. The second

biggest feature is that the country depends excessively on

exporting their agricultural commodities or their natural

resources. Service and technique are more valuable than

products. If a country only makes money from everyday or basic

essential products, it is difficult to create added value to make

more money. As a result, labor wage cannot be raised, and the

economy would not be flourished. In addition, economies that

rely heavily on exported commodities are vulnerable because

their national income will be much reduced when prices are cut

off for any reason. The third important feature is having high

rates of unemployment. Normally economic depression and

unemployment are complementary to each other, when the

economy is not stable enough, once people do not have enough

money to purchase, the shops and restaurants close causing

more unemployment and thus becoming a vicious cycle.

To conclude, all factors are relevant, and more problems arise

when markets are constrained and not flexible enough to

develop and grow. In order to bring economic success to

developing countries, policy making will be a crucial act.