The Bahamas was ranked one of the world's least globalized nations by the Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.
Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research is said to be Switzerland's leading business cycle research institution. The KOF has been surveying businesses in industry, the construction trades and the service sector on their performance and prospects for 50 years.
The globalization index measures economic, social and political dimensions of globalization. The index also measures long distance flows of goods, capital and services as well as information and perceptions that accompany market exchanges.
In addition to actual flows of trade and foreign investment, it also captures the degree to which a specific country controls capital and trade flows.
The report says, "Regarding economic globalization – and in line with the results for previous years – Luxembourg by far shows the highest score. Hong Kong (for which a score separate from China is calculated) ranks second, followed by Ireland, the Netherlands and Singapore – all of them small open economies. Least glogalized in economic terms are Benin, Niger and The Bahamas."
In terms of the world's most globalized countries, as in previous years, the USA, Sweden and Canada are on top of the list.
On the bottom of the 2006 ranking are Togo, Chad and the Central African Republic. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, improved its position. Starting from rank 9 in 1999 the UK continuously increased its globalization score, taking the forth position in the current ranking.
"This is mainly due to increases in the social and political dimensions of globalization," the report says.
The social dimension index measures the spread of ideas, information, images and people; and the political dimension index captures diffusion of government policies.
The social globalization ranking is headed by the USA, Canada, Australia and Sweden, whereas the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Guinea-Bissau are at the bottom of the ranking.
According to the political sub-index of globalization, the USA is the world's most globalized country. The United Kingdom, France, and Russia are among the most politically globalized countries, whereas Belize, Barbados, The Bahamas, and Hong Kong show the lowest political globalization score.
The report was calculated based on 23 economic, social and political variables.
The Bahama Journal
