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Globalization and Human DevelopmentThe impact ofglobalization will notbe limited to theeconomic sphere only,but will extend to thepolitical, social andcultural spheres aswell.in almost all its activities in whatbecame known as Reaganomics. Thismade liberalization and opening up ofthe markets a prerequisite for receivingaid. This trend was later reinforced bythe disintegration of the former SovietUnion (FSU).2- The revolution in information technology(IT) and the means of communication,which turned the world into a smallvillage. The emergence of the Internetand its expanding use in economicactivities has resulted in further changesin the international economy andrelations among people and nations.3- The movements towards regionalism andintegration in large economic blockssuch as the European Union (EU), NorthAmerican Free Trade Area (NAFTA),ASEAN and others.4- The growth of multinational corporations(MNCs) to unprecedented size and theirincreased share in world production andinternational trade. Their continuedprogress would warrant more liberalpolicies and further opening up of theworld markets.5- The poor performance of manydeveloping economies especially thosedominated by public sector enterprises.The 1980s are considered to be the ‘lostdecade’ from an economic developmentperspective, especially for Africa, wherecountries faced severe problems,namely: low or even negative growthrates; high rates of unemployment;relatively high rates of inflation; chronicbalance of payments deficits; and heavyforeign indebtedness. Many developingcountries were not able to service theirforeign debt. To alleviate the burden ofthese debts, the rules of the game requirean agreement with the IMF. One of theguiding principles of the reformprograms to be agreed upon with theIMF is reforming economic policiestowards liberalization, dependence onthe private sector, the adoption of marketfriendly policies and privatization ofpublic enterprises.6- Breakthroughs in production technologiesin various sectors based on geneticengineering, new materials and moreefficient techniques of production.7- The rapid growth of financial assets(portfolio investment, derivatives,securitization, etc.) to the extent thattheir value has exceeded the value ofphysical assets. The instantaneousmovement of these financial assets fromone country to the rest of the worldrequires the removal of currency andforeign exchange controls.These are the most important factorsunderlying the phenomenon of globalization.It is believed, however, that the impact ofglobalization will not be limited to theeconomic sphere only, but will extend to thepolitical, social and cultural spheres as well.On the political front, there has been agrowing emphasis on the importance ofsuch notions as democracy, respect forhuman rights, transparency, good governance,and other political concepts widely usedtoday.On the social side, there is greater stress onthe importance of education and the need toallocate sufficient funds to provide adequateand broad-based education services toachieve what is called ‘the democracy ofeducation’. There is also a growing concernfor spending on health care and providingsocial security networks. Moreover, there isincreased awareness of the need to eradicatepoverty, or at least alleviate its impact onthe poorest in society.With regard the influence of globalizationon culture, opinions differ considerably.Some suggest that “culture cloning” willoccur, to the extent that Americanizationwill become synonymous with globalization,as represented by the worldwideconsumption of such products as the BigBurger, Coca Cola, Disney, and Nike etc.Some have even labeled the worldcivilization of today as ‘McWorld’. On theother hand, there is growing resistanceagainst this trend and an insistence on theneed to preserve national culture and thedistinctive civilization of various nations.The argument is that culture cloning wouldreduce diversity, and that humanity couldlose the variety and multiplicity required to10 -Egypt Human Development Report 2000/2001