国际贸易第1章小节经济全球化英文版.docVIP

International Trade Chapter I. Globalization LEARNING OBJECTIVES After you have read this chapter you should: LO1 Understand what is meant by the term globalization. LO2 Be familiar with the main drivers of globalization. LO3 Appreciate the changing nature of the global economy. LO4 Understand the main arguments in the debate over the impact of globalization. LO5 Appreciate have the process of globalization is creating opportunities and challenges far business managers. Flat Panel Televisions and the Global Economy They begin as glass panels that are manufactured in high-technology fabrication centers in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Operating sophisticated tooling in environments that must be kept absolutely clean, these factories produce sheets of glass twice as large as king size beds to exacting specifications. From there, the glass panels travel to Mexican plants located alongside the U.S. border. There they are cut to size, combined with electronic components shipped in from Asia and the United States, assembled into finished TVs, and loaded onto trucks bound for retail stores in the United States. Its a huge business. In 2006, U.S. consumers spent some $26.4 billion on flat panel TVs, a 63 percent increase over the amount spent in 2005. Projections call for U.S. sales to hit $37 billion by 2008-despite the fact that due to intense competition, prices for flat panel displays have been tumbling and are projected to continue doing so. During 2006 alone, prices for 40-inch flat panel TVs fell from $3,000 to $1,600, bringing them within the reach of many more consumers. In 200? half of all TVs sold in the United States will be flat panel TVs. The underlying technology for flat panel displays was invented in the United States in the late 1960s by RCA. But after RCA and rivals Westinghouse and Xerox opted not to pursue the technology, the Japanese company Sharp made aggressive investments in flat panel displays. By the early 1990s Sharp was selling the fir