[discuss-dan] IPS - "Top 200" study on Corp. Power released on WTO Seattle an]

["getmelissa@uswest.net" <getmelissa@uswest.net>]

From: jeaton@fox.nstn.ca

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According to study co-author Sarah Anderson, "The Seattle protestors
expressed their anger at institutions like the WTO for elevating the
interests of large corporations over everyone else.  We analyzed just
how powerful the world's biggest firms are and our findings are
staggering. "

To receive a paper or email version, contact Sarah Anderson, tel:
202/234-9382 or email: saraha@igc.org.

"Top 200" Report in Adobe Acrobat Format at:
http://www.ips-dc.org/top200.htm

FYI: 
1] Press Release 
2] Table of Contents 
3] Key Findings 
4] Conclusions 

janet m eaton

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[1] Research Institute Releases Study on Corporate Power on 1st 
Anniversary of Seattle Protests Study Reinforces Public Distrust of
Corporations

View Report (Adobe Acrobat format)
http://www.ips-dc.org/top200.htm

On the first anniversary of the Seattle protests that shut down
negotiations of the World Trade Organization, the Institute for Policy
Studies is releasing a study that shows:

Of the world's 100 largest economic entities, 51 are now corporations
and 49 are countries;

The world's top 200 corporations account for over a quarter of economic
activity on the globe while employing less than one percent of its
workforce.

According to study co-author Sarah Anderson, "The Seattle protestors
expressed their anger at institutions like the WTO for elevating the
interests of large corporations over everyone else.  We analyzed just
how
powerful the world's biggest firms are and our findings are staggering."

Other key findings include:

The Top 200 corporations' combined sales are bigger than the combined
economies of all countries minus the biggest 10. --The Top 200s'
combined
sales are 18 times the size of the combined annual income of the 1.2
billion people (24 percent of the total world population) living in
"severe" poverty.

Between 1983 and 1999, the profits of the Top 200 firms grew 362.4
percent, while the number of people they employ grew by only 14.4
percent.

A full 5 percent of the Top 200s' combined workforce is employed by
Wal-Mart, a company notorious for union-busting and widespread use of
part-time workers to avoid paying benefits.

U.S. corporations dominate the Top 200, with 82 slots (41 percent of the
total).  Japanese firms are second, with only 41 slots.

Of the U.S.corporations on the list, 44 did not pay the full standard 35
percent federal corporate tax rate during the period 1996-1998. Seven of
the firms (including the world's largest, General Motors) actually paid
less than zero in federal income taxes in 1998 (because of rebates).

Between 1983 and 1999, the share of total sales of the Top 200 made up
by
service sector corporations increased from 33.8 percent to 46.7 percent.

To receive a paper or email version, contact Sarah Anderson, tel:
202/234-9382 or email: saraha@igc.org.

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[2] CONTENTS

KEY FINDINGS

I. INTRODUCTION
II. OVERVIEW OF THE TOP 200
III. POWER OF THE TOP 200
A. ECONOMIC CLOUT
B. POLITICAL CLOUT
IV. CONTRIBUTIONS OF TOP 200
A. JOBS
B. TAXES
V. CONCLUSION

NOTES
Table 1. Changing Profile of the Top 200 (1983-1999)
Table 2. Top 100 Economies (1999)
Table 3. Top 200 (1999)

About the authors
Sarah Anderson is the Director of the Global Economy Project of the
Institute for Policy Studies and the co-author (with John Cavanagh and
Thea Lee) of Field Guide to the Global Economy (New Press, 2000) John
Cavanagh is the Director of IPS and a former international economist
at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop-ment.

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[3]  KEY FINDINGS
1. Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations;
only 49 are countries (based on a comparison of corporate sales and
country GDPs). 
2. The Top 200 corporations' sales are growing at a faster rate than 
overall global economic activity. Between 1983 and 1999, their 
combined sales grew from the equivalent of 25.0 percent to 27.5 
percent of World GDP. 
3. The Top 200 corporations' combined sales are bigger than the 
combined economies of all countries minus the biggest 10. 
4. The Top 200s' combined sales are 18 times the size of the combined 
annual income of the 1.2 billion people (24 percent of the total 
world population) living in "severe" poverty. 
5. While the sales of the Top 200 are the equivalent of 27.5 percent 
of world economic activity, they employ only 0.78 percent of the 
world's workforce. 
6. Between 1983 and 1999, the profits of the Top 200 firms grew 362.4 
percent, while the number of people they employ grew by only 14.4 
percent. 
7. A full 5 percent of the Top 200s' combined workforce is 
employed by Wal-Mart, a company notorious for union-busting and 
widespread use of part-time workers to avoid paying benefits. The 
discount retail giant is the top private employer in the world, with 
1,140,000 workers- more than twice as many as No. 2, DaimlerChrysler, 
which employs 466,938. 
8. U.S. corporations dominate the Top 200, with 82 slots (41 percent 
of the total). Japanese firms are second, with only 41 slots. 
9. Of the U.S. corporations on the list, 44 did not pay the full 
standard 35 percent federal corpo-rate tax rate during the period 
1996-1998. Seven of the firms actually paid less than zero in federal 
income taxes in 1998 (because of rebates). These include: Texaco, 
Chevron, PepsiCo, Enron, Worldcom, McKesson and the world's biggest 
corporation-General Motors. 
10. Between 1983 and 1999, the share of total sales of the Top 200 
made up by service sector corporations increased from 33.8 percent to 
46.7 percent. Gains were particularly evident in financial services 
and telecommunications sectors, in which most countries have pursued 
deregulation.

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[4]  CONCLUSION
As citizen movements the world over launch activities to counter
aspects of economic globaliza-tion, the growing power of private
corporations is becoming a central issue. The main beneficia-ries of
the market-opening policies of the major multilateral institutions
over the past decade and a half are these large corporations,
especially the top 200. This growing private power has enormous
economic consequences, spelled out in this report. However, the
greatest impact may be political, as corporations transform economic
clout into political power. As a result, democracy is undermined. This
threat deserves to be one of the major issues on the political agenda
in the United States and overseas.

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