Globalization and Migration: Is there a Borderless World?

The conceptualization of globalization starts with the dimension of global economic integration. Thus the boundaries of formerly national economies have gradually diminished, resulting in one global economy, mainly by free trade and free capital mobility. When there looks to be a borderless world for economic purposes, such an economic tendency also exerts pressure to equalize social standards across countries. Globalization is also associated with the growth of somewhat easier or sometimes uncontrolled migration. Will the global population integration lead to equalized social standards, thus one global welfare state? Is there a borderless world? This paper is to review the welfare state challenges given the context of globalization and migration. Esping Andersen’s typology of the welfare state will be used to compare countries’ capacity and willingness to cope with globalization and migration. National statistics is included to compare across different welfare states: The chapter then argue that the future of national borders is closely related to the negotiations of welfare boundaries. With the intertwined processes of globalization and migration, growing holistic welfare responsibilities (i.e. public-private hybridity) might make the borderless world a reality.