Ireland Tops List of Most Open Economies; Iran...

["Mohammad Maljoo" <mmaljoo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

"The top ten most globalized countries in 2000 by rank were: Ireland,
Switzerland, Singapore, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Denmark,
Austria and the U.K.
The bottom ten, from lowest up, were: Iran, Peru, Colombia, Indonesia,
Brazil, Venezuela, Pakistan, Turkey, South Africa and China."

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?mnu=news&ptitle=Politics%20UK&tp=ad_uknews&T=news_storypage99.ht&ad=uk_politics&s=APDyXkRNKSXJlbGFu

Ireland Tops List of Most Open Economies; U.S. Ranks 12th
By Blair Pethel


Washington, Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Ireland, Switzerland and Singapore were
the world's most open economies in 2000, while Colombia, Peru and Iran were
the least globalized of the 62 nations surveyed, according to a study.

The globalization index, assembled by Washington-based Foreign Policy
magazine and Electronic Data System Corp.'s global consultancy A.T. Kearney
Inc., measures economic integration, cross-border personal contact,
transnational political engagement and technology usage to reach its
conclusions.

The U.S. ranks 12th on the list, scoring high in the technology and
political engagement measures, but low on cross- border personal contact and
economic integration.

``Countries with large internal markets tend to be less highly globalized
than countries which have small internal markets and therefore are forced to
seek relationship outside their borders to sustain themselves
economically,'' said Paul Laudicina, vice president of A.T. Kearney.

U.S. citizens scored low on the personal contact measure because most people
do not travel abroad or have foreign contact via telephone or e-mail, he
said.

That explains the high rankings of Ireland, Singapore and Switzerland,
Laudicina said. Those countries depend on trade, foreign investment and
tourism for much of their national sustenance.

`High Water Mark'

Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Policy magazine, said that because of the
global economic decline, the year 2000 probably represents the ``high water
mark'' of globalization.

Since cross-border trade and investment flows dwindled to a trickle last
year, the 2001 index could be drastically different when it is released next
year, he said.

China, through its new membership in the World Trade Organization, could
vault up the rankings in 2001 from its 2000 position of 53rd, he said.

``Last year, when Brazil experienced a downturn in foreign direct investment
from $31 billion to $20 billion, China went from $42 billion to $50
billion,'' said Laudicina.

Continued investment flows, coupled with a growing consumer class and
further economic integration, should push the world's most populous nation
up the rankings in coming years, he said.

The top ten most globalized countries in 2000 by rank were: Ireland,
Switzerland, Singapore, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Denmark,
Austria and the U.K.

The bottom ten, from lowest up, were: Iran, Peru, Colombia, Indonesia,
Brazil, Venezuela, Pakistan, Turkey, South Africa and China.




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