NAFTA and the Global Economy

GENDER, GLOBALIZATION AND THE WOMEN OF THE MAQUILADORAS: BEFORE AND AFTER NAFTA

Globalization has its fans and its critics.  To some, like New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, it is the way of the future, where people of different nations and cultures will interconnect easily through the Internet;  markets and democracy will flourish; and all things stodgy, inefficient, and dictatorial (e.g., communism, Saddam Hussein) will fade away. Others are more cautious, calling for better regulatory oversight by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other financial players in the politics of free trade. Still others see a deadly combination for nations whose transition to market economies and democracy is too quick because it fosters social instability likely to stir deep resentments based on class, race and ethnicity.

Most contemporary globalization talk focuses . . . Continue reading