INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND SOCIAL STANDARDS

The “wealth of nations” was one of the main concerns of Adam Smith. Today Adam Smith is quoted when the discussion on removing trade barriers focuses on globalization.

Globalization offers an enormous exchange of goods and an increase in wealth in a number of developed countries and the “Fast-Developing-Nations” (Schwellenländer in German). For the poorest countries, however, globalization does not yet really improve the situation for the largest proportion of the population and the living conditions remain poor in spite of the globalization. Extremist groups are even blaming globalization as being the reason for continued poverty. So far it has been a big challenge to show improvement (for example in Latin America). The tensions in connection with globalization and third world poverty leads to political unrest and even favour terrorism in some countries.

It is obvious that there is a correlation of income per capita / wages and the most relevant social indicators. We do not want to emphasize on what is well known – the poorer the salaries the more terrible are the problems – but we want to create awareness that an increase in income can be the right strategy to solving many of the most important issues simultaneously. An increase in income for the weakest will allow the free markets and the state to provide more of what is urgently needed. Our goal is to develop a strategy to really help them to help themselves by creating incentives and mechanisms that lead to an increase of wages.

A project was started from Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth together with MVV Beratung & Ingenieure (Germany).

December 2006
Martin Schoeller "Going Asia": Article (PDF, 3,5 MB)

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Article: Marin Schoeller, President of Europe's 500 on Fair Wages (PDF)

Contact

Martin Schoeller, President Europe's 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth

email: martin.schoeller@schoeller.org

tel. + 49 89 599277 106

Europe's 500 is supporting the project EXPEDITION WELT - a social and entrepreneurial initiative of the University Witten-Herdecke. For more information please see www.expedition-welt.de