The Impact of Globalization on Labour and Poverty Reduction: An African Perspective

Abstract

Globalisation gained momentum in the 1990s as a negation of the protectionist international trade policies which had characterised the world prior to that. The main discourse in this paper is that contrary to orthodox theory that globalisation would lead to job creation and poverty reduction; globalisation has led to an increase in poverty levels, unemployment and a drop in living standards, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The second exposition is anchored on the premise that globalisation has taken the struggle between labour and capital, which is heavily skewed against the former, to a new level. Thirdly, the paper postulates the argument that there is a dialectical relationship between neo-liberalism and globalisation, i.e. neo-liberalism is the sine qua non for globalisation. Finally, we submit that the main drivers of globalisation are Multi-National Corporations (MNCs), while the main enablers are the World Bank, the IMF and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).