GLOBALIZATION AND EMPLOYMENT - IS ANXIETY JUSTIFIED

Rapid growth in world trade, foreign direct investment and cross-borde r financial flows is a sign of increased globalization of the world ec onomy. The worldwide wave of economic liberalization driving these cha nges has raised significant apprehensions about the implications of gl obalization for employment and income inequality. This article seeks t o allay some of these fears: that unemployment and wage inequality wil l inevitably increase in industrialized and developing countries; that an emerging global labour market implies a race to the bottom in wage s and labour standards; and that these new problems mean the loss of n ational policy autonomy and government impotence.