Luxembourg - Personal Statement Example

It is a reality that it is very hard for a country to produce everything that they need. Products are not available to them either because of their climate, geographical location or non-availability of natural resources. For example, agriculture can be limited for extremely cold or dry climates. Also, oil reserves can only be found in specific locations. While there are a handful of self sufficient countries, a significant number of countries rely heavily on trade with others. For example, in Arab countries, there are a lot of oil reserves.

But because of their climate there is limited water supply hence there is inadequate agricultural produce. As such they rely on international trade for their agricultural produce. One effect of globalization is that it pushes countries to concentrate on the good or service that they excel in and just import everything else. Through globalization, all the goods of all the countries become open and available for everyone in what is called a global market. As such, if a country finds it hard and expensive to produce a certain good, it would buy it from another country instead.

For example, a country with a cold climate like Alaska cannot produce mangoes as such only grows in tropical countries. If it would still insist on producing mangoes, it would have to build a facility with artificial sunlight and heat. This would be extremely expensive. However with globalization, it would be cheaper for Alaska to import mangoes from Mexico or from Asian countries. Alaska can now concentrate on its petroleum extraction, a thing they do best. I agree with the essay when it stated that "a country must remember that they must produce enough to pay people to bring in the goods and services that it cannot provide for themselves.

" In our first example, Arab countries produce petroleum products but cannot produce adequate agricultural products for their citizens. Since they need to import agriculture products, they need money. As such, instead of producing just an adequate amount of petrol for their domestic consumption, they need to produce more so they can sell it and earn the money they need for the importation. Therefore it is possible for a country to just produce one good or service and just import everything else.

If that country earns enough for that good or service to be able to afford importing various products, then their economy can survive. In our Arab country example, cost of oil is very high and demand for it is very high as well. As such, even if it would produce oil alone, their earnings would be more than adequate for importation of food and other products. All of these being considered, another consequence of globalization is the increase of quality in goods and services available. If for example a country only relies on one good or service, it is their responsibility to improve it for fear that another country may take over that same industry.

For example, China provides cheap labor. But if they do not improve the quality of labor, other countries like India would take over the labor industry. In conclusion, I agree that a country must produce so much of what they can to afford importation of the goods they cannot produce. However, they should not stop from their alone. They must also continuously improve their products to protect their industry from competition.