Sociology I / Globalisation
Practice question · Multiple choice

Hirst and Thompson pointed out that trade and capital flows relative to output were already high before 1914. Why does that comparison not settle the argument against globalisation?

Hints
  1. Ask whether two economies with the same trade-to-output ratio must be connected in the same way.
  2. A ratio is a level; the sceptics and the transformationalists disagree about what is being levelled.
Show the answer

C. Similar ratios hide structural shifts: globalised production and faster finance.

Why

The ratio is a real and awkward finding for the strongest globalisation claims. But a single supply chain crossing six borders and a shipment of wheat both count as trade, and financial positions can now be unwound in seconds. The sceptics have shown the quantities are less unprecedented than advertised; they have not shown the structure is the same.

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