These strategies are shaped by declining communication and transport costs, and rising R&D costs; macroeconomic trends and exchange rate fluctuations; and liberalisation of trade, investment and capital movements”. OECD Jobs Study. Facts, Analysis, Strategies. 1994. 1. Introduction  Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. There have been many periods of global economic integration, followed by periods of backlash.
Despite these occasional disruptions, the degree of economic integration in the world has been rising over time. Especially since the Second World War, the pace of economic integration has become more rapid. Technological progress has improved transportation and communications, enhanced information awareness and information processing, and has set the stage for new products and innovations.