The World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum share the obligation to explore their common goals and work towards them rather than accentuate their differences.

Making Globalisation Work

By Jose Maria Figueres (*)

Globalisation is a fact. We should start by acknowledging this. With continuous advances in communications technologies, the world is more and more a global village in which opposite ends of the earth can communicate in real time. Indeed, the fact that the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, are happening at the same time is itself a demonstration of this.

It is also true that globalisation is a double-edged tool. We can take advantage of it with sound national strategies designed to increase the well-being of our citizens. Or we can cross our arms and do nothing and allow globalisation to take advantage of us. We have the possibility to decide and build our future, but no one will do it for us. The responsibility is ours.

Globalisation is more than a simple process of economic opening and tariff reduction. Taking advantage of it requires clear policies and that at the same time reinforce macro-economic stability, strengthen strategic social investment, mainly in health and education, and promote responsible use of natural resources. This can be achieved only through common efforts by all social actors - business, civil society, academics, and government - who share a vision of the country they would like to have and the society they would like to construct.

As far as globalisation is concerned, it doesn't matter if a country is small or large -- in marked contrast to the situation during the Cold War. What matters now is that societies organice themselves quickly and that countries are "fast" rather than "slow" to make the changes necessary to take advantage of new opportunities.

The tenor of these observations derives in part from what I was able to achieve during my years in government. When I was president of Costa Rica, the global technology firm INTEL was seeking to set up a microprocessor plant outside of the United States. When its search began, Costa Rica was not even in consideration, yet it ended up being selected as the best choice. We worked hard to make this happen, with the active participation of all sectors of the country.

In its first year of operation in Costa Rica, INTEL exports exceeded our total exports of coffee and bananas (we are the world's second largest banana exporter). The country then became a magnet for other high-tech companies. Work opportunities in turn reinforced the interest of new generations in pursuing higher education and careers in technology. Thus began a virtuous circle that today includes a growing export sector in software by small national companies, a high value-added product.

Did we convince INTEL to invest in Costa Rica by promising low wage workers, fiscal incentives, or environmental concessions? The opposite is true:

1. Costa Rica has the highest wages in Latin America, preferring to compete instead on the basis of higher productivity, not with "hunger salaries".

2. The fiscal incentives it offers for investment are no greater than those any company receives in Ireland, Singapore, or Israel. It is to be hoped that globalisation will require us to harmonise taxes (raising them) to adequately finance development.

3. Costa Rica's environmental regulation is comparable to that of developed countries. What quality global firms least desire is to produce in countries with no environmental controls, particularly in a world where consumers are ever more demanding and better informed.

Today Costa Rica plants more trees that it cuts down, sells tonnes of carbon drawn from the atmosphere , and pays small farmers for these services they provide to society. By constitutional mandate, the country invests six percent of its GDP in public education. Certainly many challenges continue to face the country, but this is the form of globalisation that we pursue.

I have worked for two years at the World Economic Forum. Convinced that business has responsibilities to society and can play a positive role in areas relating to development, the WEF supports programmes that work in this direction. Certain companies are very clear about their mission in this sense and practice it daily. Others less so. But many governments and many grass roots organisations share this understanding. After all, if development were simple, we would all be developed.

Today it is more important than ever to join forces and move forward. The World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum share the obligation to explore their common goals and work towards them rather than accentuate their differences. This is the way to do more for those who have the least, and to work towards meeting the world's challenges.

(*) Jose Maria Figueres is the managing director of the World Economic Forum. He was president of Costa Rica from 1994-1998.