17 This gap in labor force participation between large cities and other areas has widened substantially since just before the Great Recession: Since 2007, the participation rate for prime-age adults in nonmetro areas has fallen nearly 3 percentage points, as compared with less than 1 percentage point on net in larger metro areas.
In this way globalisation creates opportunities to increase international trade, economic growth, employment creation and welfare. Unfortunately, like all good things in life, globalisation also has certain disadvantages. In particular, the integration of South Africa into the world economy has made the country more vulnerable to external shocks. These can take the form of supply, demand and financial shocks.