KOF Index of Globalization

Globalization has led to the interdependence of the countries in the world in regards to the economical, social and political pillars of the society.  There are various ways used to measure the extent to which a nation is globalized through the use of an index. One of the measurements of the globalization of countries is the KOF index of globalization. This measurement considers economic, social and political dimensions of globalization to calculate the index.  According to the index, globalization is a process that erodes national borders, integrates economies politics, technology, and culture and facilitates the flow of people, capital goods and ideas (Gygli et al.2018).

How the factors reflect globalization and why I agree with the calculation

             The economic dimension indicates the extent to which a country is involved in international trade. The actual flow of trade and foreign capital are significant indicators of the level of trade of a nation. The restrictions on trade and the capital flow indicate the openness of the country to trade. For instance, a state with many trade restrictions and tariffs suggests that it’s not open to external trade which limits its globalization. On the other hand, few restrictions and low taxes show that the country is free to trade with other nations.

            The social dimension reflects globalization when there is ease of contact and dissemination of information between people in other countries. The proximity of the culture of a particular country to the rest of the world shows its level of openness (Gygli et al.2018). Political dimension also reflects globalization through the number of foreign embassies in the country. The measure also considers the number of international organizations that the state is a member and any agreements that it has participated. The more the country is involved internationally, the more its globalization.

            I do agree with the calculation of the index because it takes into account the level of trade and the flow of capital of a country. The index also incorporates the restriction on trade and other tariff barriers that may hinder globalization. According to Gygli et al. (2018), the calculations measure the social and political dimensions of a country in a more comprehensive way which gives satisfying results. Finally, the calculation is right because it uses a considerable number of countries to determine the globalization index which makes it viable.

The top and bottom five countries and the trends among them

In the KOF globalization index (2017) ranking, the top five states that were most globalized include Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland. The bottom five countries in the rank are Monaco, Netherlands Antilles, Northern Mariana Islands, Somalia and the Virgin Islands.The top five countries have some similarities in that they are industrialized and have a high level of international trade. The countries also exhibit high economic growth and political globalization which help them access new markets. The bottom five countries have a similarity in that they have low economic growth which translates to low international trade. The countries have so many restrictions on trade and taxes that hinder trade activities in the country. The ease of contact between people in different countries is also very low among these countries.

Conclusion

The KOF globalization index is the most used measure of globalization in the world due to its viability and reliability. Globalization is important to countries as it opens them to access new markets and technologies.

References

Gygli, S., Haelg, F., & Sturm, J. E. (2018). The KOF Globalisation Index–Revisited. KOF           Working Papers, 439.

KOF Index of Globalization (2017). Retrieved from            https://www.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/dual/kof.../rankings_2017.pdf