Due to trade liberalization policies (the lowering of trade barriers between countries), along with advances in technology, communication, and transportation that speed up trade between countries, all economies throughout the world are more closely integrated with one another today than at any other time in the past. As part of understanding what globalization is, students consider the question: How does globalization affect international and national economies, and individuals? Students explore how changes in government policy, technology, information, and the rise of global markets contributed to this process. A sign that the U.S. economy is more globally integrated is the large percentage of exports and imports in GDP. Students will learn what exports and imports are, examine a trade deficit and surplus, and examine the balance of payments. They learn how the United States economy can be influenced by external factors, such as an increase in the price of oil on the global market or major changes in the incomes of its trading partners.Trade occurs between individuals and firms globally due to differing comparative advantages. To address the uneven consequences of globalization, students consider this question: Why are there critics of globalization? International trade can be mutually beneficial to countries as it encourages specialization based on comparative advantage, increases overall productivity and employment, and lowers prices for consumers. The growth of world trade has contributed to an overall increase in personal income in our recent history, but this increase has not been uniform across nations and within nations. Critics of globalization assert that freer trade does not equate with fair trade; certain nations and classes within nations benefit while other nations and classes within nations do not share in the prosperity. Students can analyze protectionist measures used to reduce imports and examine the positive and negative impacts upon different groups, such as the effect of trade restrictions implemented during the Great Depression. Students might collect data, evaluate the sources of the data, and use the data to analyze particular trade restrictions of the United States and its trading partners. They might use the same process to defend or argue against current trade agreements and disputes between the United States and other countries.Globalization refers to the faster and freer flow of goods and services, inputs, money, and ideas around the world, as well as the emergence of a global production system used by multinational corporations. Financial transactions, whether in the form of credit, stocks, or bonds, also flow quickly around the world and cause economies to be closely integrated with one another. Students learn that trade liberalization, technology, information, and lower costs of transportation have all fostered globalization. Students can trace the impact of globalization for themselves, for different groups in their own economy, and for groups in other countries. Students can also use their knowledge from tenth-grade world history in examining developing countries and studying how they have been impacted by globalization.