The Globalization Index 2007

In the seventh annual assessment of the progress of globalization, Foreign Policy magazine and consulting firm A.T. Kearney rank the 20 most globalized nations in the world and seek to explain some of the recent shifts. Using data from 2005, they compared states along four dimensions: economic integration, personal contact, political engagement and technological connectivity, with particular attention paid to trade and foreign direct investment. The Globalization Index provides an excellent barometer of several key trends and a glimpse at the disparate impact the phenomenon can have on developed and developing nations. But the index is also limited by the necessary attention to numbers. Some effects of globalization – whether global warming, competition for natural resources or other cultural factors – are difficult to quantify, and thus fall outside the Index's purview. – YaleGlobal