This module offers a broad overview of the process of economic ‘globalisation’ and changes in international business over time. The focus is on the multinational firm – set in the context of trends in the world economy, with particular emphasis on the period since the 1970s. It provides a critical and comparative perspective on the nature and scope of international business, its origins and development, theories of international trade and its regulation, the role of the state in industrial development, and emergence of global value chains (GVCs) as a major form of organisation of the world economy. It explores these analytical themes through case studies of extractive industries (especially the global oil economy); the ‘retail revolution’ in the EU and UK; global value chains and manufacturing in China; and upgrading in South Korea’s automotive industry and its class dynamics. Finally we ask: can we sustain the world economy in the age of the Anthropocene?