The history of the location of the textile industry illustrates that companies seek out the locations that produce the most for the cheapest. This includes countries that have the lowest restrictions on working conditions, no minimum wage, a population that is willing to work for very little money, where the workers personal traits include docility and obedience, and where even the small wages of factory work improve the living conditions of the workers. Today, this place is China. Rivoli's book also brings up both the negative and the positive consequences of industrialization. One negative long term and short term effect is pollution. Rivoli explains "Of the 20 cities in the world with the highest levels of air pollution, 16 are in china, and the majority of the water in the country's largest river systems is unsuitable for human contact" (Rivoli 89). She also gives the example of the factory that was dumping dye and poison into the river, and the river was then passing through the agricultural part of China. A short term positive effect is the increased sense of self-autonomy for women. For the women who would otherwise work in agriculture, the working conditions of the factory are somewhat better than they would be on the farm, and the ability to move away from home gives women independence from their families. Also, industrialization helps the economy. It provides jobs and cheaper goods to countries across the globe. A long term positive effect could be the universal demand for better working conditions and more strict regulations on gas emissions from the factories. Over time, the working conditions will improve, much like they did in the United States in the industrial revolution, and the lives of the workers will be better. One section that I found to be particularly interesting was the section that described to clothing industry to be a liberating field for women. These women, at the factory, work laboriously, follow strict rules and schedules, and are referred to as 'birds in a cage'. But this is a good alternative to the life that they would have on a farm. I never had considered this aspect of industrialization before.

The World is Spiky- Richard Florida

The author presents to sides to globalization. The first is Thomas Friedman's view; globalization has created a 'flat' world in which new technological innovations give the countries competing within the economy an equal chance. The flip side, Florida's view, is that globalization is polarizing and magnifying the differences between the highly populated economic centers, and the rural 'valleys' of the world. Florida argues that the growing disparities between rural and urban centers will inhibit future economic innovations because of the political climate that will occur from this stratification. This theory supports central place theory. They both represent the centralization and clustering of innovations and people in large city-regions such as New York, London, and Tokyo. A large availability of jobs, services, and goods all  bring people to these regions to reduce transportation and transaction costs, resulting in a cluster. This leaves agricultural workers in the 'valleys'. For study abroad, I will be traveling to Dakar, Senegal. Dakar has a population of about 2.5 million, making it by far the largest city in the country. It is also one of the largest cities in Western Africa, and acts as a main port for the area. Dakar has hospitals, an international airport, universities, and government buildings. There are a few other places in the continent of Africa that would rival Dakar in terms of largeness and 'spikiness', and those include Cairo and Johannesburg. A regional city would be St.Louis. It has a population of 176, 000. It has national parks, a university, museums, and regional government offices. A town would be Rao, and I was unable to find any useful information on the town. Of course, in the rural areas of Senegal, there are villages, or hamlets, where there are only a few dozen people living, give or take.

The primary ocean port in Senegal is in Dakar, the nations capital. It is one of the largest deep water ports along the West African coast. The total freight traffic averages about 10 million metric tons. The country, according to some sources, is well served by passenger trains and railroads. However, according to other sources, Senegal's trains, both freight and passenger, run very slow, at about 20 km/hour, due to poor condition. The highway system is extensive compared to West African standards, including paved roads reaching each corner of the country and all major towns. There are a total of 10 airports with paved runways. The main airport serves the Dakar region (and is also located in Dakar), called the Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport. Other airports include the Saint-Louis Airport and the Richard Toll Airport. The airport in Dakar is the primary airport, and includes daily international flights, including flights to and from Johannesburg, Europe, and Atlanta.

The most interesting part of the chapter, to me, was learning that container terminals function so thoroughly and mechanically, with little room for human error. Levinson compares trade as it was not even 50 years ago to trade as it is now- clockwork. As someone who is interested in history, I liked learning how international trade and imports and exports have unfolded over the course of the past 100 years. The author sees the development of the shipping container as a contribution to globalization in the way that it lowered transportation costs immensely. Advanced containerships are much more efficient than the smaller ships of yesteryear, and also require less labor and time to load and unload. Now, business men see transportation as practically costless. Containers also account for the elimination of piece-by-piece freight handling, ultimately leading to less time spent on shipping. Levinson argues that the container stimulated trade and economic development. Historically speaking, transportation costs have always been very high, so trade was conducted amongst neighbors. In todays global economies, Levinson argues, incredibly low transportation costs allow companies to move to countries where there are low labor costs, abandoning economies that may have flourished previously. This economic geographical reorganization is what Levinson argues is the short run effect of the container. Levinson is unclear about what this has specifically to do with national income, but companies leaving for other countries can leave many people without jobs. Theoretically speaking, this would lower inflation. As we can see from the United States position at present, this would render the country in a recession.

A pure market theory states that supply and demand will adequately allocate all resources in a society to where they are needed. It relies on markets to provide and distribute resources without government intervention. This market does not exist in the world, and it cannot exist because markets are imperfect. Government intervention is necessary because markets are flawed and self-servient. An example of this in Rivoli's book is on page 32, where Rivoli discusses the authorizing of the Bracero program by Congress in 1942, which allowed Mexican labor to enter the United States for short periods to work in agriculture. Rivoli states that this program "illustrates again the political influence that enabled cotton farmers to avoid competitive markets." (Rivoli 32) This program allowed cotton to be picked more effectively than it would have otherwise, and protected farmers from the volatile labor market. Another example is the payment of subsidies from the U.S. government to cotton growers, put in place by the Farm Bill act of 2002. Under this bill, cotton farmers received a direct payment of "6.66 cents per pound of cotton regardless of the market price." (Rivoli 59). This bill protected farmers from business risks such as bad weather, bad credit, and tough competition. The Crop Disaster Program reimburses farmers for losses due to bad weather, and the Farm Loan Programs provide financing to farmers who are unable to get credit from private sources. The government has been a good friend to the cotton farmers, and have given them a leg up in the global cotton economy. While culture interacts with economics in the very broad sense that government interaction due to cultural values, a specific example from the text appears on page 30. Rivoli explains that the Deep South was more reluctant to trade in their traditional farming tools for more advanced technologies that would increase productivity. She explains that this hesitance to trade in their mules for tractors was due to a "faithful attachment to tradition and reluctance to change..."(Rivoli 30). This grasp to old ideals effected Deep South's cotton production greatly, placing them far behind Texas in annual production. One thing that surprised me in this section of the book was the small number of organic growers. During the summers I work on a blueberry farm, but about 7 years ago the owner, never a smoker, got lung cancer from the pesticides he sprayed on the fields. So, we switched to organic. Not only did greater demand for organic blueberries increase our sales, but we noticed that the blueberry plants responded better to the organic sprays than the chemical ones. Seeing the difference between the blueberry and cotton industry is very interesting to me because of this.

Five days ago, President Macky Sall was sworn into office as President of Senegal. His inauguration was inexpensive, taking place in a tent, and ending with a march through the streets of the capital, Dakar. His predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade, celebrated his inauguration with a lavish and expensive party. Wade has been increasingly criticized by leaders of the IMF and World Bank for public policies that worsened the effects of rising food prices, but most importantly, he lost popularity among the Senegalese. Wade has been blamed for installing his son in positions of power, attempting to change the constitution to make re-election easier, and seeking a third term when law limits terms of presidency to two. Wade also was blamed for superfluous spending, once spending $27 million dollars on a statue that, when finished, will be taller than the Statue of Liberty. Not only that, but he planned to profit from the statue himself, stating "So we should see how we share the benefits. The state will go with 65% and l shall take 35% for myself." No wonder Wade lost in a landslide to incoming president Macky Sall, who won nearly 66% of the vote. However, Sall now faces many economic problems, including rising food prices, high unemployment, a large debt, and a significant dependence of foreign aid. Sall has pledged to make tackling poverty a priority, promising to fund cuts to the price of basic necessities such as rice with reductions in the cost of running the government. This tactic is exactly what I would suggest for the country. Senegal's economy is in recession, and there are many unemployed people, and the cost of inflation is high. Redirecting government funds and reducing corruption within the government will ultimately increase government spending, particularly on social welfare programs and employment. Cutting the price of foods will increase the demand for it, and consumption will go up. Senegal should stick with this expansionary monetary and fiscal policy if it hopes to overcome the economic woes that Wade left behind. 


Articles used: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/02/us-senegal-president-idUSBRE8310JD20120402, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/senegal/index.html, and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8353624.stm

In Milton Friedman's essay "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits", the main theme or motif that appears is the importance of maintaining a pure form of capitalism, and economy that is autonomous from the government. Friedman stresses that businesses do not have a 'social responsibility', but the 'invisible hand' of private enterprise forces business owners to be responsible for your own actions, therefore making it difficult to exploit workers. To put it simply, government regulations on business that force that business to act in a way that it otherwise wouldn't have is socialism, and socialism is evil. The cultural values that are most important to Friedman are individualism and meritocracy. In fact, those are the values that businessmen in the 1950's spent millions of dollars on propaganda promoting as the true 'American' values; values that promote capitalism and profits, values that make labor unions seem like an unnecessary evil. Personally, I do not see a conflict between business and social responsibility. Friedman explains that only people have responsibilities, therefore, businesses do not have responsibility, but the people running them do. Obviously, this is not true, because the government, AND the people running it have responsibilities to cater to the needs of the American people. Friedman also argues that the government must impose taxes on businesses because their policies are too unpopular among the people. "What it amounts to is an assertion that those who favor the taxes and expenditures in question have failed to persuade a majority of their fellow citizens to be of like mind and that they are seeking to attain by undemocratic procedures what they cannot attain by democratic proce­dures." Huh. Those who benefit from taxes (those who benefit from government aid programs like welfare, social security, medicaid, etc.) make up the majority of the American population. Friedman speaks from the viewpoint of the wealthy business elite - the people who popularize capitalism so they can augment their already bursting pocketbooks. Friedman is indeed a participant, or a victim of, a propaganda campaign beginning in post WWII America, when growing labor unions threatened the ideals of capitalism. I think businesses, as a facet of American society, have as much social responsibility as religious institutions, hospitals, and schools. 

In his lecture, Richard Shweder identified three major prophecies of the shape of a new world order. The first is the theory that liberal democracy is the final point of ideological evolution. This theory explains that all civilizations in the world have been searching for and evolving to fulfill what can be considered an 'ideal civilization', such as the United States in the 2nd half of the twentieth century. This thought is also called the Washington Consensus. The second prophecy is the return of the ideologically divided world, where countries coexist and compete with each other in the global arena. Shweder mentions that the most homogeneous countries are the most egalitarian, that is, the more culturally 'pure' a community is relates to how well it functions. He also points out that globalization brings about ideological conversions, such as technological advancements, but certain ideologies are more effective in certain countries. The third prophecy is there will be a return to a global empire that utilizes the better aspects of the Ottoman Empire. This incredibly diverse empire, Shweder explained, only collected taxes and prevented people from encroaching on other people's territories. Most civilizations throughout the history of the world have used empirical systems, and the modern nation-state is merely an exception, and not the rule. Indications of global change can be found in patterns of trade and ideological pressure. Countries that are both wealthy and dedicated to the spread and implementation of their political and economic ideology, like the United States, have immense impact on patterns of commerce. Refusal to trade with countries that don't share our values, like Cuba, could persuade countries out of becoming communist. Financial aid for countries who choose to implement democracies and capitalism could also be a strong selling point for poor countries. Also, historically speaking, patterns of global change throughout history could demonstrate the future. Another indicator would be the introduction of substitutes that would decrease a countries dependence on trade with another country. An example of this is United States dependency on oil from the Middle East. Culture is incredibly important in shaping economic outcomes. If a culture shares the same values concerning the economy, it is more likely to succeed. Take, for example, the United States. In America, there is strong pro-capitalism sentiment, and heavy anti-communism/socialism sentiment. This began at the end of World War II and intensified during the Cold War. This effects the countries we trade with and to what extent we will trade with them. Also, Americans value individualism and hard work for economic gain. These cultural values are economically efficient for the United States. Furthermore, religious organizations play a large part in American society and perpetuate economic values. Shweder himself stated that the most homogeneous societies are the most egalitarian.

Senegal has many natural resources, including fish, peanuts, phosphate, iron ore, gold, titanium, oil and gas, and cotton. Located on the ocean, Senegal's largest export is fish. Fishery exports account for approximately 15% of the employment in Senegal, and contributed 22% to Senegal's export earnings. In 2010, Senegal's labor force was documented to be 5.532 million strong, but at the moment, the country is experiencing nearly 50% unemployment rate. As for capital, Senegal is reforming capital expenditure in a long term program. Capital expenditure in 2009 was equivalent to 922.6m euro, to 1.04b in 2010. Important trading partners for Senegal are France, Italy, Mali, the Gambia, and India. Major exports from 2008 total $2.05 billion and include fish products, peanuts, phosphates, cotton. The fish sector is the largest sector of trade for Senegal. Major imports (2010) total $4.474 billion and include food, consumer goods, petroleum, machinery, transport equipment, petroleum products, computer equipment. Senegal receives these imports from France, United Kingdom, China, the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United States. International trade with Senegal is monitored through ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States. Nevertheless, trade with Europe and parts of Asia dominate trade with Senegal. Senegal uses African Financial Community franc (CFA), which is fixed to the euro. 656 CFA = 1 euro. 495.28 CFA = U.S. $1. The household final consumption expenditure (current LCU) is Senegal was, in 2010, 5127249103720.06 in 2010. The percent of investment of total GDP is 29.813 %. Government spending has increased to a level equivalent to 26.8 percent of total domestic product, and the number representing that is 78.5. Due to chronic debt, the amount of foreign aid in 2007 totaled to be 20% of government spending.