Globalization, Inequality and the Demise of the State?

Abstract

This chapter places the main thesis of this book in the context of two of the main development trends of the end of the twentieth century: the liberalization of economies that in the South is often expressed as structural adjustment and reforms imposed by World Bank and IMF, and the phenomenon of globalization, the increasing interconnectedness of economic, political and social-cultural processes. These interrelated processes have contributed to gains in economic welfare, but have also been associated with rapidly rising inequalities, between but also within countries.