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Professor Murray Weidenbaum of Washington University in St. Louis shares a laugh with Shirley Clay Scott and Sajal Lahiri. Weidenbaum presented the annual Vandeveer chair lecture Wednesday night at the Student Center Auditorium.
A frost in Brazil two years ago triggered a decline in the production of coffee, instantly affecting prices on the New York Stock Exchange. Within 24 hours, it hit Americans in their pocket books here at home.
This is just one example of globalization given by Murray L. Weidenbaum during the second annual Vandeveer Chair Lecture, which drew faculty and students from a variety of majors.
"World trade is growing faster than world production," Weidenbaum said to the audience in a crowded Student Center Auditorium. "People in one country are now more likely to be affected by economic actions in other countries."
Weidenbaum said his working definition of globalization is the increased movement of goods, services, people and information across national borders around the globe.
Sajal Lahiri, Vandeveer chair of economics, came to SIUC as a holder of the chair in August 2002 and initiated the annual lecture series.
"I enjoyed the talk a great deal," Lahiri said. "The turnout was good, and I am encouraged by it."
The Vandeveer Chair was endowed in 1960 through a gift of Ashland Oil and Refining Co. stock made to SIUC by the late philanthropist W.W. Vandeveer, a University alumnus.
Weidenbaum said the effects of globalization are complex, so it helps to break it down into "the bright side and the dark side."
According to Weidenbaum, globalization increases economic growth and living standards, creates a greater variety of products available to consumers at lower prices, facilitates greater exchange of information and technology and helps developing nations by lifting millions of people out of poverty.
"That's the essence of an increasingly globalized economy," Weidenbaum said.
Jake Greenwill, a senior in mathematics and philosophy, said Weidenbaum did a good job of summarizing the pros and cons of globalization.
"I think he made some interesting suggestions on how this country might best use globalization," Greenwill said. "Overall, I was quite pleased."
Weidenbaum said the dark side of globalization is widespread poverty occurs in the midst of global prosperity. It also harms the environment.
"The rich are getting richer faster than the poor are getting rich," Weidenbaum said. "[Globalization] pollutes local environments that lack ecological
standards. It is quite clear that the working conditions and the environmental
standards in poor Asian and African countries are not up to ours."
Douglas McEwen, a retired professor in health education and recreation, said globalization is a complex subject and society tends to hold a negative view of it.
"I learned from this lecture it's much more complicated than I thought,"McEwen said. "What I thought were negative effects could also be positive effects."
Weidenbaum, who is one of the nation's leading economists' has written eight books, is chairman of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission of the U.S. Congress and served as assistant secretary of the Treasury for Economic
Policy in the Nixon administration.
"In a globalized world, we are still an autonomous economy," Weidenbaum said. "The decisions we make, public and private, determine the fate of consumers, workers and investors here in the United States."
Shirley Clay Scott, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said the lecture was informative.
"I am intrigued enough by his arguments to read his most recent book so that I can learn more," Scott said.
Weidenbaum said the bottom line is the system and all its imperfections seem
to be working at home.
"The most important thing is not economic at all. The most important, powerful effect is the global exchange of ideas," Weidenbaum said.
McEwen learned the positives and negatives of globalization are much more complex than he thought.
"I think globalization is a very important process in the nation today," McEwen said. "We all need to be aware of what's happening."
