We often say that globalization is a reality that we must contend with. We also say that

globalization offers opportunities as much as it poses challenges. That people and nations must

learn to deal with both. But, there are still many unsettled questions pertaining to globalization.

Even the discipline of economics has not addressed the phenomenon in a holistic manner. For

example, while there is enormous, and quite longstanding literature on the benefits of free trade in

goods and free flow of capital, the literature and policy on the free movement of people remains

scanty and patchy.

There are questions pertaining to the globalization of lifestyles, and its consequences for

consumption, and their impact on the world environment. Is growth sustainable if development in

the developing world merely mirrors the experience of the developed? It is not just that Third World

households may not be able to afford western consumption standards, our planet would not be able

to do so.

If every consumer in India and in China, totaling up to almost 3 billion, want to live like people in

San Francisco, Stockholm or Singapore, can they afford to? Can nature afford it? If not, how do we

alter lifestyles and consumption patterns so that the growth process is sustainable in a more

globalized world?

I believe, a new generation of economists and social scientists have to once again write and draw on