What is globalization, and how has it tied the world's economies together?
Explain globalization and economic interdependence: how trade, multinational corporations, and international organizations have created an interconnected world economy with both benefits and costs (Framework Key Idea 10.10).
A Framework-level answer on globalization for the NY Global History and Geography II Regents: what globalization is, the role of trade, multinational corporations, and international organizations, and the benefits and costs of an interconnected world economy, with worked exam questions.
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What this topic is asking
Framework Key Idea 10.10 brings the course to the present with globalization. It asks you to explain how trade, multinational corporations, and international organizations have created an interconnected world economy, and to weigh the benefits and costs of that interdependence. This connects the enduring issues of interconnectedness, economic systems, and inequality.
What globalization is
A simple sign of globalization is a product whose raw materials come from one country, whose manufacturing happens in another, and whose sales are in a third, all coordinated by one company. Modern economies rely on one another in this way as never before.
What drives economic interdependence
The benefits
Globalization has produced genuine gains. Consumers enjoy cheaper and more varied goods. World trade and economic growth have expanded. Developing countries have attracted investment and jobs, lifting many people out of poverty. Ideas, technology, and culture spread faster than ever, and global cooperation on problems becomes possible.
The costs
Globalization also has serious costs, which the exam wants you to acknowledge. Jobs can move from high-wage to low-wage countries, hurting workers (and whole regions) left behind. Some factories pay low wages in poor conditions (sweatshops). Inequality can grow, both between rich and poor nations and within them. Local cultures can be overwhelmed by global brands, and rapid growth can damage the environment. Globalization, in short, creates winners and losers, which fuels debate about how it should be managed.
Try this
Q1. Name one international organization that promotes global trade. [Recall]
- Cue. The World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or the World Bank.
Q2. Explain one benefit and one cost of globalization. [Short explanation]
- Cue. A benefit is cheaper goods and economic growth (plus investment in developing countries); a cost is the loss of jobs where work moves overseas, or low-wage, poor-condition factory work.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of NYSED exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Regents GHG II (stimulus, 2024)1 marksA diagram shows raw materials from one country, manufacturing in a second, and sales in a third, all by one company. This best illustrates (1) economic isolation; (2) global economic interdependence; (3) feudalism; (4) the Cold War arms race.Show worked answer →
A stimulus-based multiple-choice item assessing economics and interconnectedness (Practices E and D).
The correct answer is (2). A single product drawing on raw materials, labor, and markets across several countries shows global economic interdependence, the way modern economies rely on one another.
Why the others are wrong: (1) it shows connection, not isolation; (3) feudalism is a medieval system; (4) it is about trade, not the arms race.
Markers reward identifying the cross-border production chain as economic interdependence.
Regents GHG II (CRQ, 2023)2 marksDocument 1 describes both the benefits (cheaper goods, jobs, growth) and the costs (job losses in some regions, sweatshop labor) of globalization. Based on this document and your knowledge of social studies, identify one benefit and one cost of globalization.Show worked answer →
A 2-point CRQ identify question (Practices A and E).
Benefit (1 point): one benefit is access to cheaper goods and economic growth, or new jobs and investment in developing countries, or the faster spread of ideas and technology.
Cost (1 point): one cost is the loss of jobs in regions where work moves overseas, or poor wages and conditions in some factories (sweatshops), or greater inequality and environmental harm.
Markers reward one clear benefit and one clear cost of globalization.
Related dot points
- Explain how modern technological and scientific change has transformed the world: advances in communication and computing, the Green Revolution and medicine, and their global benefits and challenges (Framework Key Idea 10.10).
A Framework-level answer on technology and the modern world for the NY Global History and Geography II Regents: the communication and computing revolution, the Green Revolution and medical advances, and the global benefits and challenges of rapid technological change, with worked exam questions.
- Explain contemporary global challenges: environmental change and human impact, terrorism and conflict, population pressures and migration, and the role of international cooperation (Framework Key Idea 10.10).
A Framework-level answer on contemporary global challenges for the NY Global History and Geography II Regents: environmental change and human impact, terrorism and conflict, population growth and migration, and international cooperation, with worked exam questions.
- Explain why the Cold War ended: Gorbachev's reforms, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of a new world order (Framework Key Ideas 10.9 and 10.10).
A Framework-level answer on the end of the Cold War for the NY Global History and Geography II Regents: Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost and perestroika), the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the new world order, with worked exam questions.
- Explain modernization and the role of developing nations: the non-aligned movement, the rise of newly industrializing economies, and the tension between tradition and modernization (Framework Key Idea 10.10).
A Framework-level answer on modernization and developing nations for the NY Global History and Geography II Regents: the non-aligned movement, the rise of newly industrializing economies, and the tension between tradition and modernization, with worked exam questions.
- Explain human rights as a contemporary global issue: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the role of the United Nations and movements, and ongoing struggles against discrimination and abuse (Framework Key Idea 10.10).
A Framework-level answer on human rights as a global issue for the NY Global History and Geography II Regents: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations, civil-rights and anti-apartheid movements, and ongoing struggles, with worked exam questions.
Sources & how we know this
- New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework (Grades 9 to 12) — New York State Education Department (2016)
- Global History and Geography II Framework — New York State Education Department (2025)