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Of course, globalization is a big topic these days. Europeans rail about, but buy tickets to, EuroDisney and grapple with waves of Eastern European workers. American industries establish massive call centers in India while local and state governments pass laws to curb illegal immigration. Newly prosperous companies in India and China establish branch offices in the United States and Europe. It might get a little confusing to try to grasp all of this interrelatedness. So, let's try to focus on one very vital aspect -- how globalization affects societies, in the "rich" Western economies, and in those economies that are not so rich, but are up-and-coming.

This is the area that interests one eminent economist, author, and educator, Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati. He examines what he has called a "situation of flux," in which anybody ... from Malaysia to Madison, Wisconsin ... might be someone else's competition. And, he insists that corporations and societies can't turn a blind eye to the needs of those individuals caught in this new state of flux, to maintain social and economic stability and prosperity.

Tune in to a fascinating interview with a brilliant economist who has something to say about the very-real bumps and boulders that make up this "flat world" of globalization.

Resources

The Age of Flux

A New Vocabulary for Trade

Professor Jagdish Bhagwati's Home Page

Bio

Jagdish Bhagwati, currently University Professor, Economics and Law, at Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He was Economic Policy Adviser to the Director General, GATT and also served as Special Adviser to the UN on Globalization and External Adviser to the Director General, WTO. Currently, he is a member of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Advisory Group on the NEPAD process in Africa . Five volumes of his scientific writings and two of his public policy essays have been published by MIT press. The recipient of six festschrifts in his honor, he has also received several prizes and honorary degrees. Professor Bhagwati's latest book In Defense of Globalization was published by Oxford University Press in 2004.

Production Credits

Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host
Kimberly Stone, Web Development Manager
Scott Ebner, Web Developer