The IMF’s latest forecast is that emerging economies will grow by more than 6% in 2011 and 2012. But growth in the rich world is likely to be below 2%.
Twenty of the 42 economies covered in the back pages of The Economist grew by 3% or more in the year to the latest quarter. Only two of these, Austria and Sweden, are from the traditional group of rich countries. The rest are developing economies, such as Brazil and Turkey, or newly rich ones, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Yet the growth of emerging economies is unlikely to continue at the same rapid pace or without occasional downturns. As economies become richer, they can rely less and less on the brute force of capital spending, coupled with a steady flow of cheap rural migrants, to fuel their expansion. They have a greater need of a skilled workforce and a modern financial system that is attuned to where the best returns might be found.
The shift will not be easy. The coming decade is therefore likely to prove harder for the emerging markets. China and others are entering the tricky middle-income stage of development in which the big advances from absorbing rich-world technology start to run out [Read more].




A recent side-by-side comparison of the U.S. and Chinese economies produced a startling result: There were $34.8 billion of initial public offerings in China this year and only $13.7 billion in the U.S.
The economies of China and India are set to grow by more than previously thought in 2009, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said [
Economic and financial globalisation and the expansion of world trade have brought substantial benefits to countries around the world. But the current financial crisis has put globalisation on hold, with capital flows reversing and global trade shrinking.
Emerging market countries are facing increasing difficulties around the world because of the spreading global economic crisis, with demand falling for their exports, investment slumping, and cross-border lending drying up.
Despite continuing concerns about corruption, red tape, and political instability, it’s suffering far less from the financial crisis than other parts of the world. Some companies operating in the region continue to do well, as demand for everything from computers to discount airline tickets remains strong.
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