Comparative Analysis As An Economist Tool.

Mainstream economists are increasingly aware of the inadequacies of their methodological orientation for the development of an acceptable physiognomy on the notion and/or subject matter of globalization. This mostly stem from the facts that they are trained in the techniques of microeconomics/macroeconomics and financial analysis and not in the sociology and politics of economic development; and partly because, discourse on globalization is inherently contentious because its social and economic impacts tend to raise ethical issues as well as efficiency and the question of prudence. More often than not, its impact tends to elicit the most discordant views, passions and propaganda.Today, there is the persistent demand that along with both the normative approach and an ethical inquiry into matters of political, social as well as economic behaviours and organizations of nations in a globalizing world, it should be the central task of the professional/practicing economists to search for regularities in socio-economic behaviours and to devise a system of analysis in the context of which hypothesis can be veritably tested which can help us to reach a generalized theory in the light of which our findings may assume a cumulative character. The professional economist should not think mechanically in terms of the “financial programming models” taught in the university and training seminars – a model in which monetary and fiscal policies are shifted to balance supply and demand in which there is no rule for asymmetric information.Thus, comparative analysis is an integral part of such a study. This then suggest immediately the laboratory of a social scientist which provides him (us) with the opportunity to discuss specific socio – economic phenomenon of various nations in the light of different historical and socio-economic background. This suggests variables of a rather complex order that can be dissociated from the cultural background and studied comparatively. Such a simple approach can frequently convey meanings of considerable importance (weight) more effectively than a Jargon of abstractions.More specifically however, the function of this study is to identify uniformity and differences and to explain them. Such an explanation requires the development of theories in the light of which similarities and differences come – so to speak – to life; they then lose their adventitious character and assume a significance that has casual i.e. explanatory characters. Such a study has an important role to play in the more traditional approach to the study of economic phenomenon in which facts and values are interrelated in the scheme of the investigation. Here, the parallel comparism of variables may provide us with important clues about the implementation of values and policies.Comparative study therefore entails the comparism of variables against a background of uniformity either actual or analytical for the purpose of discovering causal factors that accounts for variations. More generally, its function is to appraise policy measures and to identifies problem areas and trends so as to reach a stage were predictions of the institutional trends and process is/ are possible.It is noteworthy to state therefore that comparative study is conceived in this paper as the closest approximation to the social scientist laboratory possible; and the wealth of materials for observation and studies at his disposal is indeed richer than that available to the natural scientist. Thus, his limitation in the processing of this wealth of materials has been, and is, primarily intellectual. Simply put, the mainstream economists have failed to orient their empirical study toward eliciting meaningful and persistent result. More often than not, they have been overwhelmed by the diversity of facts and have been unable to look for, let alone find relationship between them. (Infact) they have not even attempted to establish an orderly way of looking at facts.Such a conception of the role and scope of such study however may appear overambitious unless it is made clear that it calls for a long and painstaking methodological inquiry. Again, instead of an exclusive emphasis on values in a purely speculative and ethical term, or on the study of ideas in terms of their historical genealogy, the role of the theory/approach is conceived in this literature as any that could be found in any “standard macroeconomic text”.Moreover, given the state of nations, most essentially that of Africa in this (our) globalizing world, the development of a unifying theory may seen to be premature or even impossible. The development of a testable proposition however, and the elaboration of concepts are not only possible but also indispensableNaturally, such a scheme need not at this stage claim universal comprehensiveness, but it has to be systematic in the sense that it provides explicitly a coherent, even if tentative scheme of categorization and points to interrelationship of various levels of abstractions and comprehensiveness. The problem oriented approach and the development of classificatory tables and schemes for comparative study may provide us with more manageable type of research without which the collection and analysis of data becomes indiscriminate and/or simply put confusing.The purpose of such approach is to suggest ad hoc relationship for the study of particular problems and possibly to suggest veritable theories. Although, the depth and scope of comparative study are limited when the particular variables are thus arbitrarily restricted, the conclusions arrived at may provide tentative explanations and eventually pave the way to a more systematic and comprehensive approach.Globalization which forms the core of this discourse is changing the determinism of the states; its actions and inactions; what firms and people do; where they do it; how they see themselves, or simply put their identity; and what they (actually) want.Moreover, its accompanying financial transaction, increasing volume of world trade and their decreasing cost as well as reduction in public sector expenditure have put strong competitive pressure on the government world wide to reduce their role in the determination of who get what, where, when, how and why despite the facts of the social irresponsibility of the market economy, particularly as it affects asymmetric information, the delivery of public goods and services, negative externalities (such as pollution and other social costs) within the political system.Indeed, the only truly self – sufficient macro-economy is the world economy itself. Each nation-state within the world economy has something that it can influence for itself, but it has many others, including the markets for its imports and exports and for financial capital that are world - market – determined. Hence, we cannot understand the macroeconomics of a single country along; but we can use the tools of macroeconomics to understand both the behaviours of the economy in which we live and other economies that affects us.However, there is no guarantee that the world will solve the problems of sustainable growth, starvation, material (even psychological) poverty and other pressing economic problems that bedeviled the world today; but even then, there is nothing in modern growth theory and/or existing evidence to suggest that such an achievement is impossible. Thus, the point here is clear and important “technological advance (advancement) transforms our lives by inventing in a new – undreamed of things and making them in a new-undreamed of ways”.Finally however, societies need to think hard about how to best manage the implications of rapid technological changes; it is also important to note that there is little to be gained by confusing the externalities inflicted on our economies as a result of the past injustice brought by the activities of the Transnational/Multinational Corporations (TNCs/MNCs) with the issue of economic globalization which in its core sense refers to the expansion of cross-border economic ties.It is also certainly important to analyze the strength and weakness of the market economies as such and to better understand the institutions and policies needed to make it work most efficiently.