Introduction: The impact of globalization on the world’s poor

Summary: This paper is an introduction to eight papers included in this special issue on the impact of globalization on the world’s poor, arising out of the first conceptual and methodological workshop for the UNU-WIDER project in Helsinki, October 2004. The authors of the papers in this issue focus on the different channels and transmission mechanisms through which the process of globalization affects different aspects and dimensions of poverty in the developing world. These numerous channels interact and the net effects on poverty depend on the relative strength of the positive and negative forces of globalization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]