Luxembourg 12th in Globalisation Index
or
Luxembourg Second in Economic Globalisation Index

The pace of economic and social globalization decelerated in 2009. As in the previous year, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria head the KOF Index of Globalisation. Luxembourg is ranked 12th overall and 2nd behind Singapore in Economic Globalisation.

The KOF Index of Globalisation measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation. The current analysis, which applies to 2009, shows the consequences of the financial and economic crisis which are clearly visible by a falling trend in economic globalisation. The second and third components of the index – social and political globalisation – increased further.

There has been a progressive upward trend in the three dimensions of globalisation since the 1970s with a strong boost after the end of the Cold War. The bursting of the dot com bubble and the events of 9/11 merely slowed down the pace of globalisation; the latest economic and financial crisis has, however, created a severe setback for the globalisation process.

There has been a progressive upward trend in globalisation in the developing and emerging countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in recent years. However, the 2012 index confirms that this trend stopped in 2007. The extent of globalisation remains highest in Eastern Europe, in Central Asia, in the industrial nations and in Western Europe, although globalisation herehas been stagnating for quite some time. The globalisation process still moves sideways in East Asia and the Pacific area. While the Middle East and North Africa are showing a small increase in globalisation, the effects of the Arab Spring are not yet captured by the current Index.

As in previous years, Singapore leads the economic globalization rankings, followed by Luxembourg, Ireland, Malta and Belgium; interestingly, all of them are quite small, open economies. The economic dimension of the KOF Index measures actual trade and investment volumes as well as the extent to which countries apply trade and capital movement restrictions to protect their own economies.

The KOF Index of Globalisation 2012 was published by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. It measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalisation and can be used to observe the change in globalisation in a large number of countries over a long period of time. It has been published since 1970, covers 187 countries and comprises 23 variables.

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KOF Rankings

Source: http://www.odc.public.lu/actualites/2012/03/KOF_Index_of_
globalization_2012/index.html