2007/06/25 by David Brady, Jason Beckfield, Wei Zhao · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Labor Movements and Unions #European Union Policy and Governance #Globalization #Deindustrialization #Politics #Economic globalization #Political science #State (computer science) #Welfare state #Political economy #Scrutiny #Empirical research #Development economics #Economics #Economy #Law
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.131636
openalex publication_date 2007/06/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/05
In recent decades, economic globalization has grown significantly in affluent democracies. Taking this as a point of departure, we review social science research on the consequences of economic globalization for the state, the economy, and civil society. We advocate for a concrete position of empirical scrutiny, between the grand theorists and earlier empirical skeptics, and measure economic globalization as the heightening of international trade and investment. Social scientists have engaged in lively debates surrounding such topics as how globalization affects the welfare state, politics, deindustrialization, inequality, and organized labor. Among the themes that emerge from these debates are the distinct values of within- and between-country comparisons and the need for a stronger connection between theoretical accounts of globalization and empirical analyses. At the same time, many aspects of social life have been neglected by recent research on globalization. Throughout, we gauge current consensus and dissensus, identify understudied topics, and suggest directions for future research.