Globalisation

globalisation is when human activities take place on a world wide scale, meaning we increasingly live in a 'global village'

• improvements in technology and telecommunication 
• improvements in transport
• the growth of multinational companies ( MNCs ) HSBC and Nike
• the development of trading blocks 

McDonald's, the us fast food chain, is a large MNC. Its has hearly 30 000 restaurants in 119 countries. 

The majoity of MNCs have their headquarters in MEDCs like the uk or usa, but locate their branches in poorer countries 

• cheap raw materials 
• cheap wages
• relaxed enviromental laws 
• good transport links
• access to the marker where goods are sold 

• MNCs provide jobs and skills for local people
• MNCs bring foreign currency to local economies when they buy resources, products and services. This is known as multiplier effect
• The mixtures of people and cultures, providing experiances of foods and products perviously unavalible.
• Allowing people to take holidays in far away places 
• help people become more aware of events in different parts of the world e.g 2010 haiti earthquake 
• Migration of people can fill labour and skill shortages 

• Profits are usally sent back to MEDCs where most MNCs are based 
• If its cheaper to operate in other countries, multinational companies may close down, therefore making people redundant 
• Globalisation is a thread to the worlds cultural diversity, as it drowns out local traditions and languages.
• Migration across the world can cause social tention 

The European union ( EU ) is a group of countries whose goverments work together to make trade easier and improve living standers of its people.

• The EU is made up of 500 million citizens. Each country pays to be a member and the money is used to change the way people live and do business in Europe
• Some people believe that the EU does too much and tries to create universal rules for everyone in Europe, making people obey them even if they disagree

A trading block is a group of countries that work together to remeove barriers and improve trade between member countries

People left poland because of high unemployment, low wages and housing shortages and came to the UK because of more work, higher wages and a big demand for plumbers and electricians.

Poland

• Polands population fell by 0.3 per cent 
• Money earned will be sent home by migrant workers

UK

• The UK population increased slighly 
• Migrants filled jobs and boosted the UK economy 
• New shops where selling polish products

• They bring jobs to chinese people
• The government can tax them and use the money to help develop china's economy 
• They use materials and equipment made my chinese companies 
• They bring new skills and technology 

• They often pay low wages
• Some use children as workers in poor conditions 
• They may pollute the environment
• They may quickly move their office, shop or factory to another country

Imports are goods purchased from abroad and brought into the country 

Exports are goods purchased by other countries and sent to them.

The balance of trade is the difference between the money earned from exports and that spent on imports