Impact of globalization on the construction sector in developing countries

The international movement towards open markets promoted by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has as its premise that trade liberalisation will benefit all concerned. Each country should be able to exploit its position of comparative advantage once a free and fair trade regime has been implemented. Although most commentators agree that in theory free trade should be beneficial, its implementation has been anything but beneficial for the developing countries. The construction sector falls under the provisions of the services negotiations of the WTO, and stands to experience the effects of trade liberalisation. Whether construction firms from the developing countries stand to gain or lose from this exposure to open competition is discussed in the light of the inequity with which the developing countries have been treated in the globalization of markets to date.