FINALS: CONTEMPORARY WORLD the 

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian

Nations) Free Trade Area (AFTA) 
LESSON 6: THE WORLD OF REGIONS  Geographic proximity but also on increasing
Geography - Relationship between places economic interdependence, relatively
homogenous political structures (e.g.,
 Physical Geography democracy), and shared cultural and political
 Human Geography traditions.
 Regional Geography  Classification
REGIONALISM o Level of institutional integration
 “tight” regionalism -
 Pursuit for common identity, aims, and goals.  “loose” regionalism
 Shared values and structures of existing within a o Treatment of non-members
geographical location  Open forms vs Closed forms
 Regionalism is a key concept in human  Supporters of economic regionalism have tried
geography denoting mobilization of cultural, to promote the development of open and tight
economic, and political sub-national divisions.  regionalism and to minimize closed and loose
 Large territories (counties, provinces, countries regionalism.
(which share a set of attributes)  North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
 Dynamic  European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
 Created by people  European Union (EU)
 Set of principles and beliefs leading to the  Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
formation of regions  Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN)
 Top-down approach
 The persistence of regionalism as a cultural and THE GLOBAL DIVIDES
political form reaffirms the importance of the  Global disparities between developed and
making (and unmaking) of territorial developing countries
boundaries.   The tension was caused by the issue of slavery
 It is concerned with emphasizing the moral  Socio-economic and political division
particularity of a population bounded by
territory and with valorizing regional culture as The Brandt Line: 1980s
a means to create regional identity.
 Topophilia - existence of affective bonds
between a people and place or setting

Economic Regionalism

 Institutional arrangements designed

to facilitate the free flow of goods and services
and to coordinate foreign economic policies
between countries in the same geographic
region.
 Manage the opportunities and constraints
created by the dramatic increase in
international economic ties since the end
of World War II.
 European Community (1957) and the European
Union (EU; 1993)—and the European Free Trade
Association (EFTA; 1960).
  EU, the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), and
North and South Divide  Differences between the North and South
o Political
 Gap in terms of development and wealth.
o Economic
 DEFINITION
o Social
o Cold war VS post cold war
 As nations become economically developed,
Global North they become part of the North regardless of
geographical location
 North America, Western Europe, Australia,
 The North mostly covers the West and the 1 st
Japan
World, mostly Second World
 Economy is based on major businesses,
commerce and finance 4 WORLDS MODEL
 Manufacturing factories that dealt with textiles,
1st World
lumber, clothing, machinery
 Biggest business was in railroad construction  refers to the co-called developed, capitalist,
industrial countries.
Global South
 A bloc of countries who aligns with the US after
 Africa, Latin America and developing Asia WW II
including the Middle East  Common political and economic interests
 Economy was based on cotton production which  North America, Western Europe, Japan and
depended on slave labor Australia
 Weak and vulnerable because it depended
2nd World
entirely on cotton
 Lacks appropriate technology, no political  Refers to the former communist-socialist,
stability, disarticulated economies, earnings are industrial states
highly dependent on export  Eastern bloc – sphere of influence of the union
of soviet socialist republic
North and South Divide
 Russia, Eastern Europe (Poland), Turk States
 Income distribution (Kazakhstan), China
o When liberalization or market occurs,
3rd World
most south lost competition
o Transport/ migration of people from  refers to countries that suffer from low
South to North economic development, high levels of poverty,
 Economic Competitiveness low utilization of natural resources and
o Well functioning public and private dependence on industrialized nations
institutions  Developing and technologically less advanced
o Stable Economic Framework nations of Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin
o Infrastructure America
 Standard of Living  Large foreign debt
o Lack of trade and aid
4th World
o Single crop farming
o Debt  Was concocted at a later time as an extension of
the developing Third World
 Describes places and populations characterized
by extremely low income per capita
 Consists of those excluded from the mainstream
society
o Aboriginal tribes in South America or
Australia are entirely self-sufficient but
 do not participate in the LESSON 7: THE GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY AND THE
global economy. GLOBAL CITIES
o The term became synonymous with
stateless, poor, and marginal nations
GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY
Reasons for Inequality
 Demography is the statistical study of
 Colonialism
populations (human beings)
 Trade
 It encompass the size, structure and distribution
 Debt
of these population and spatial or temporal
Development Gap changes in them in response to birth, migration,
aging, and death.
 Countries tend to develop faster than the others  Demographic Transition – singular historical
 Many Asian countries are quick to develop while period where mortality and fertility rates
many African countries are slow decline in a region or country. Pace and timing
Asian Regionalism may vary across the region or country.

 A product of economic interaction Four stages to the classical demographic model

 Outward oriented strategies, Asian economies 1. Pre-Transition
become richer and closer 2. Early Transition
 Helps sustain the region’s growth 3. Late Transition
 Financial Crisis 4. Post Transition
o Exposure of structural weakness, global
financial system weakness Global Demography
o Opportunity for policy and institutional  Industrialization and technological
reforms advancements
o Shared interests and values. Asia has  The Baby Boom in the Developing World
become more integrated  Debate on the effect of population growth to
o Shift of the center of gravity of global economy
economy, increased influence  Ratio of working age to non-working age
Asian Development Model individuals
 demographic change has created a ‘bulge’
 Initially focused on labor intensive exports generation, which today appears in many
 East Asian development relied on the region’s countries as a large working-age population.
abundant asset This cohort will eventually become a large
 Low wage labor was used as a leverage for elderly population, in both developed and
savings and investments developing countries.
 In many Asian countries, chain of poverty was
broken Age structures across the globe

 Gap in the life expectancy between Japan and

the West
 Rapid changes in birth and death rates having a
large impact today on the age structure of the
population across the globe with much older
populations in the high income countries
Migration Global Cities Index

 Internal Migration and International Migration  The ranking is based on 27 metrics across five
 Globally, 191 million people live in countries dimensions:
other than the one in which they were born. o business activity,
 According to the UN Population Division, the o human capital,
United States will receive by far the highest o information exchange,
number of immigrants (1.1 million a year), and o cultural experience, and
China, Mexico, India, the Philippines and o political engagement.
Indonesia will be the main sources of emigrants
 Given the trend, what is do you think will the
developed countries lack that developing
countries are rich with that is needed to drive
the economy?

THE GLOBAL CITIES

 Are we living in the Global Cities?

 Does size matter?
 Do GCs only play a crucial role on the economic
growth?

The Global City

 "the world's biggest, most interconnected cities Global Cities Outlook

help set global agendas, weather transnational  a projection of a city's potential based on rate of
dangers, and serve as the hubs of global change in 13 indicators across four dimensions:
integration.  o personal well-being,
 They are the engines of growth for their o economics,
countries and the gateways to the resources of
o innovation, and
their regions.”
o governance. 
 “World Cities” – coined by Patrick Geddes in
1915, places where world’s business was done
 That large, technologically advanced urban
areas defined the modern world. Ms. Sassen
identified Tokyo, London and New York as the
three cities that propelled the world economy
 Serve as primary nodes in the globalized
economic system
 Direct and tangible effect on global socio-
economic affairs.

Characteristics of Global Cities

 Open
 Knowledge generators
 They drive the global economy
 Cultural Hubs
 Connectivity
 Led by global thinking leaders
Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Global Cities – other indexes
(GaWC)
 Global Cities Initiative
  think tank that studies the relationships o Global Giants, Asian Anchors, Emerging
between world cities in the context Gateways, Factory China, Knowledge
of globalization (Peter J. Taylor in 1998). Capitals, American Middleweights, and
  Bi-annual categorization of world cities into International Middleweights
"Alpha", "Beta" and "Gamma" tiers, based upon  Global City Lab
their international connectedness. o Global Top 500 Cities was released in
 Alpha ++ cities are cities most integrated with New York on 27 December 2019.
the global economy:  Global Power City Index
 Alpha ++ (cities are cities most integrated with o Tokyo-based Institute for Urban
the global economy) Strategies at The Mori Memorial
o London and New York Foundation,  They are ranked in six
 Alpha + (cities are highly integrated cities, filling categories: economy, research and
advanced service needs) development, cultural interaction,
o Beijing, Dubai, Hongkong, Paris, livability, environment, and accessibility
Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo  Schroders Global Cities Index
 Alpha o The British asset management
o 15 countries company Schroders ranked the
 Alpha – competitiveness of global cities. 
o 26 countries (Manila City included)  The Wealth Report
 Beta (cities that link moderate economic regions o The report includes a "Global Cities
to the world economy) Survey", evaluating which cities are
 Beta + considered the most important to the
o 23 countries world's HNWIs (high-net-worth
 Beta (cities are highly integrated cities, filling individuals, having over $25 million of
advanced service needs) investable assets each
o 24 countries
Some Challenges that Global Cities face
 Beta -
o 44 countries  Employment
 Gamma level cities are cities that link smaller  Environment
economic regions into the world economy  Health
 Gamma +  Food Security
o 30 countries  Social Inclusiveness
 Gamma  Elder Population
o 24 countries  Issues of OFW
 Gamma -
o 29 countries
 Sufficiency level cities are cities that have a
sufficient degree of services so as not to be
overly dependent on world cities. 
 High Sufficiency
o 27 countries
 Sufficiency
o 191 countries (Cebu City included)
 LESSON 8: TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WORLD  The creativity, knowhow, technology and
financial resources from all of society is
Sustainable Development
necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.
 Development that meets the needs of the  Nations Department of Economic and Social
present without compromising the ability of Affairs (UNDESA) 
future generations to meet their own needs  Division for Sustainable Development Goals
(Brundtland Report) (DSDG)
 Targets and indicators
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
 Each goal typically has 8–12 targets, and each
 In June 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de target has between 1 and 4 indicators used to
Janeiro, Brazil, more than 178 countries measure progress toward reaching the targets.
adopted Agenda 21.  The targets are either "outcome" targets
 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (circumstances to be attained) or "means of
 "The Future We Want” implementation" targets.
 2015 was a landmark year for multilateralism  Review of indicators
and international policy shaping, with the LIST OF SDGs and indicators
adoption of several major agreements:
o Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk  Goal 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Reduction   Goal 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and
o Addis Ababa Action Agenda on improved nutrition and promote sustainable
Financing for Development agriculture
o Transforming our world: the 2030  Goal 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-
Agenda for Sustainable Development being for all at all ages
o Paris Agreement on Climate Change  Goal 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality
 Comprise a global agenda to end poverty, education and promote lifelong learning
protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy opportunities for all
peace and prosperity, a blueprint.  Goal 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower
 Also known as the Global Goals. all women and girls
 Adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a  Goal 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable
universal call to action to end poverty, protect management of water and sanitation for all
the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people  Goal 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable,
enjoy peace and prosperity. sustainable and modern energy for all
 Urgent call for action by all countries -  Goal 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and
developed and developing - in a global sustainable economic growth, full and
partnership. productive employment and decent work for all
 Recognize that ending poverty and other  Goal 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote
deprivations must go hand-in-hand with inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
strategies that improve health and education, foster innovation
reduce inequality, and spur economic growth –  Goal 10 - Reduce inequality within and among
all while tackling climate change and working to countries
preserve our oceans and forests.  Goal 11 - Make cities and human settlements
 They recognize that action in one area will affect inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
outcomes in others, and that development must  Goal 12- Ensure sustainable consumption and
balance social, economic and environmental production patterns
sustainability.  Goal 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate
 Have committed to prioritize progress for those change and its impacts
who're furthest behind. The SDGs are designed  Goal 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the
to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination oceans, seas and marine resources for
against women and girls. sustainable development
  Goal 15 - Protect, restore and promote
sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat
desertification, and halt and reverse land
degradation and halt biodiversity loss
 Goal 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive
societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all
levels
 Goal 17 - Strengthen the means of
implementation and revitalize the global
partnership for sustainable development

Source: Sustainable Development Goals and Targets

(worldbank.org)