Globalization and Global Public Goods

Abstract

Everyday, the importance of global public goods (GPGs) is increasing in the globalization process. GPGs are public goods with benefits or costs (peace, crime, terrorism, disease etc.) that extend across countries and regions, across rich and poor population groups, and even across generations. GPGs comprehensively cover global issues such as peace and security, health, global warming, market efficiency, global financial stability, human rights, knowledge etc. GPGs affect many aspects of our lives. Many GPGs have existed outside of human intervention, such as the oceans, the ozone layer, and the atmosphere. As globalization has advanced other GPGs have come to our attention, and this has increased the capacity of cross-border influences, both in a positive and negative manner. However, the concept of GPGs is new and an agreed-upon definition is unfortunately missing. As a result, it is a priority to define and structure the growing phenomenon of GPGs. The growing force of GPGs has shown that policy decisions involving the public have been extremely positive in response to the challenges they pose (Gardiner, R. & Le Goulven K., 2001b). C.P. Kindleberger first mentioned GPGs in his article on “International Public Goods without International Government” in 1986, although, GPGs did not achieve prominence until a publication by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1999. I. Kaul uses the term GPG to mean a public good which is non-rival and non-excludable throughout the whole world, as opposed to a public good which exists in just one national area. Knowledge is a canonical example of a GPG for him. The term GPG has also become associated with the concept of a common heritage of mankind in some academic literature. Nowadays, many crises threaten the globalization process of the world, including global conflicts, global warming, international financial stability, and growing poverty. With the globalization process, peace and security are also conceived as GPGs. During recent wars, millions of people died, and the costs incurred by the global community contained military costs, refugee costs, economic costs, instability costs, and international peace operations (Yilmaz, 2010). At the beginning of the 21st century, technological accomplishments have also given rise to fresh and unique patterns of communication, cooperation and mobilization, and discoveries in the fields of medicine and science allow the potential to make it possible for humans to lead longer, more productive and healthier lives. These benefits have been accompanied, on the other hand, by a parallel rise in threats to human security, ranging from