Does globalization generally make a positive difference?
PAUL SOLMAN: Well, of course, globalization does make a difference to the U.S. economy, especially in global industries, but it’s mainly a positive difference, says Robert Lawrence, as he tried to demonstrate at our next stop, a firm called NECX, just outside Boston. This is a brokerage outfit, but it doesn’t trade stocks or bonds. Instead, it buys and sells competing microchips all over the world. Larry Marshall is chief operating officer. LARRY MARSHALL: We actually thrive on international trade. All of our business is done around the world. We buy all the products that we sell in many, many countries, and bring them into the United States and ship them within the United States and back out to other countries. We manufacture no product at NECX. Everything we do is bought and sold through international trade. ROBERT LAWRENCE: Has the Asian crisis really affected you? LARRY MARSHALL: What the Asian crisis and the circumstances around the world relative to the United States has done for
