Deglobalization

As the world economic crisis unfolded, it revealed globalization’s most vulnerable element: trade. Though shrinking for the first time since World War II, world economic growth dipped only slightly compared with the precipitous drop in world trade. In response, state governments and international businesses began rethinking the supposed efficiency of globalization. Businesses are moving toward more localized production, as global supply chains based on the cheapest available labor are at risk from global problems such as pandemics, energy cost spikes, and geopolitical conflict. Additionally, with developed countries like the US passing legislation to promote domestic production, foreign businesses in emerging industries like green technology are establishing new branches in US cities to take advantage of these incentives. In the end, it may not be so much as a decline in globalization as a shift in emphasis. – YaleGlobal