Class 10 Economics Chapter 4 Important Questions

As consumers in today’s world, some of us have a wide choice of goods and services before us. The latest models of digital cameras, mobile phones and televisions made by the leading manufacturers of the world are within our reach. Today, Indians are buying cars produced by nearly all the top companies in the world. A similar explosion of brands can be seen for many other goods: from shirts to televisions to processed fruit juices this is known as transformation.

From the middle of the twentieth century, production was largely organised within countries. What crossed the boundaries of these countries were raw material, food stuff and finished products. Colonies such as India exported raw materials and food stuff and imported finished goods. Trade was the main channel connecting distant countries. This was before large companies called multinational corporations (MNCs).

The production process is divided into small parts and spread out across the globe. For example, China provides the advantage of being a cheap manufacturing location. Mexico and Eastern Europe are useful for their closeness to the markets in the US and Europe. India has highly skilled engineers who can understand the technical aspects of production. It also has educated English speaking youth who can provide customer care services. And all this probably can mean 50-60 per cent cost-savings for the MNC! The advantage of spreading out production across the borders to the multinationals can be truly immense.

When MNCs set up production where it is close to the markets; where there is skilled and unskilled labour available at low costs; and where the availability of other factors of production is assured. In addition, MNCs might look for government policies that look after their interests.

When MNCs set up factories and offices for production. The money that is spent to buy assets such as land, building, machines and other equipment is called investment. Investment made by MNCs is called foreign investment. Any investment is made with the hope that these assets will earn profits.

When the MNCs set up production jointly with some of the local companies of these countries. The benefit to the local company of such joint production is two-fold. First, MNCs can provide money for additional investments, like buying new machines for faster production. Second, MNCs might bring with them the latest technology for production.

There’s another way in which MNCs control production. Large MNCs in developed countries place orders for production with small producers. Garments, footwear, sports items are examples of industries where production is carried out by a large number of small producers around the world. The products are supplied to the MNCs, which then sell these under their own brand names to the customers. These large MNCs have tremendous power to determine price, quality, delivery, and labour conditions for these distant producers.

We see that there are a variety of ways in which the MNCs are spreading their production and interacting with local producers in various countries across the globe. By setting up partnerships with local companies, by using the local companies for supplies, by closely competing with the local companies or buying them up, MNCs are exerting a strong influence on production at these distant locations. As a result, production in these widely dispersed locations is getting interlinked.

In general, with the opening of trade, goods travel from one market to another. Choice of goods in the markets rises. Prices of similar goods in the two markets tend to become equal. And, producers in the two countries now closely compete against each other even though they are separated by thousands of miles’ Foreign trade thus results in connecting the markets or integration of markets in different countries.

Foreign trade creates an opportunity for the producers to reach beyond the domestic markets, i.e., markets of their own countries. Producers can sell their produce not only in markets located within the country but can also compete in markets located in other countries of the world. Similarly, for the buyers, import of goods produced in another country is one way of expanding the choice of goods beyond.

Chinese manufacturers learn of an opportunity to export toys to India, where toys are sold at a high price. They start exporting plastic toys to India. Buyers in India now have the option of choosing between Indian and the Chinese toys. Because of the cheaper prices and new designs, Chinese toys become more popular in the Indian markets. Within a year, 70 to 80 per cent of the toy shops have replaced Indian toys with Chinese toys. Toys are now cheaper in the Indian markets than earlier. As a result of trade, Chinese toys come into the Indian markets. In the competition between Indian and Chinese toys, Chinese toys prove better. Indian buyers have a greater choice of toys and at lower prices.

Foreign investment by MNCs in these countries has been rising. At the same time, foreign trade between countries has been rising rapidly. A large part of the foreign trade is also controlled by MNCs. For instance, the car manufacturing plant of Ford Motors in India not only produces cars for the Indian markets, it also exports cars to other developing countries and exports car components for its many factories around the world. Likewise, activities of most MNCs involve substantial trade in goods and also services. The result of greater foreign investment and greater foreign trade has been greater integration of production and markets across countries.

By the movements of goods, services, investments and technology, there is one more way in which the countries can be connected. This is through the movement of people between countries. People usually move from one country to another in search of better income, better jobs or better education. In the past few decades, however, there has not been much increase in the movement of people between countries due to various restrictions.

Even more remarkable have been the developments in information and communication technology. In recent times, technology in the areas of telecommunications, computers, Internet has been changing rapidly. Telecommunication facilities (tele- graph, telephone including mobile phones, fax) are used to contact one another around the world, to access information instantly, and to communicate from remote areas. This has been facilitated by satellite communication devices. As you would be aware, computers have now entered almost every field of activity.

The amazing world of internet, where you can obtain and share information on almost anything you want to know. Internet also allows us to send instant electronic mail (e-mail) and talk (voice-mail) across the world at negligible costs.

Tax on imports is an example of trade barrier. It is called a barrier because some restriction has been set up. Governments can use trade barriers to increase or decrease (regulate) foreign trade and to decide what kinds of goods and how much of each, should come into the country.

The Indian government, after Independence, had put barriers to foreign trade and foreign investment. This was considered necessary to protect the producers within the country from foreign competition. Industries were just coming up in the1950s and 1960s, and competition from imports at that stage would not have allowed these industries to come up. Thus, India allowed imports of only essential items such as machinery, fertilisers, petroleum etc. Note that all developed countries, during the early stages of development, have given protection to domestic producers through a variety of means.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) is one such organisation whose aim is to liberalise international trade. Started at the initiative of the developed countries, WTO establishes rules regarding international trade, and sees that these rules are obeyed. At present 164 countries of the world are currently members of the WTO. Though WTO is supposed to allow free trade for all, in practice, it is seen that the developed countries have unfairly retained trade barriers. On the other hand, WTO rules have forced the developing countries to remove trade barriers. An example of this is the current debate on trade in agricultural products.

Globalisation and greater competition among producers – both local and foreign producers – has been of advantage to consumers, particularly the well-off sections in the urban areas. There is greater choice before these consumers who now enjoy improved quality and lower prices for several products. As a result, these people today, enjoy much higher standards of living than was possible earlier. Among producers and workers, the impact of globalisation has not been uniform. Firstly, MNCs have increased their investments in India over the past 20 years, which means investing in India has been beneficial for them. MNCs have been interested in industries such as cell phones, automobiles, electronics, soft drinks, fast food or services such as banking in urban areas. These products have a large number of well-off buyers. Secondly, several of the top Indian companies have been able to benefit from the increased competition. They have invested in newer technology and production methods and raised their production standards.

Globalisation has also created new opportunities for companies providing services, particularly those involving IT. The Indian company producing a magazine for the London based company and call centres are some examples. Besides, a host of services such as data entry, accounting, administrative tasks, engineering are now being done cheaply in countries such as India and are exported to the developed countries.

The conditions of work and the hardships of the workers that many industrial units and services in India. Most workers, today, are employed in the unorganised sector. Moreover, increasingly conditions of work in the organised sector have come to resemble the unorganised sector. Workers in the organised sector no longer get the protection and benefits that they enjoyed earlier.