Effects of Globalisation — Band 8 Model Answer

Few concepts in contemporary political economy are as contested as globalisation, and fewer still are as frequently caricatured by both its champions and its detractors.Examiner noteBalanced, sophisticated opener that positions the essay as analytically rigorous from the first line — Band 8 TA and LR. I take the view that globalisation is — on balance and with important qualifications — a progressive force.

The critique of globalisation deserves serious engagement. The empirical evidence on wage suppression in manufacturing-dependent economies, the hollowing out of middle-skill employment in deindustrialised Western regions, and the cultural homogenisation accompanying Western media dominance represents a genuine set of grievancesExaminer noteLong, complex noun phrase as subject — sophisticated syntax that earns Band 8 GRA. that liberal economists have too readily dismissed. These are not symptoms of globalisation working badly; they are, to a degree, structural consequences of how it works.

Yet the alternative — autarky and economic nationalism — has a far worse historical track recordExaminer noteDash-framed contrastive structure — elegant Band 8 cohesion. . The post-war expansion of global trade coincided with the most dramatic improvement in human living standards in recorded history. Child mortality, extreme poverty and preventable disease have all declined sharply in precisely those regions most deeply integrated into the global economyExaminer noteAdverb "precisely" adds rhetorical emphasis — Band 8 LR feature. .

The appropriate response to globalisation's costs is not deglobalisation but redistribution and governance. Mechanisms such as robust labour standards in trade agreements, progressive taxation of globally mobile capital, and investment in displaced workers' reskillingExaminer notePrecise compound noun — "displaced workers' reskilling" is more specific than "helping workers". can preserve the gains while sharing them more equitably. Globalisation is not a force of nature — it is a policy choice, and its shape is negotiable.