| These are the top ten world economic trends that will affect your personal finances in 2008 and the years to come. These trends represent massive shifts in how the global economy functions, and will withstand temporary ups and downs.
These trends have been chronicled in past articles in WorldMoneyWatch and summarized in Special Reports. Click on the links to find out more.
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Financial innovation -- New financial products are being created that is moving money around the world, possibly at a faster pace than central banks can control.
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Growth of Chindia -- The growing interdependence of China and India combine the rising power of two of the world’s largest countries and fastest growing economies.
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U.S. economic decline -- This long-term trend is the result of a massive current account deficit, unsustainable debt and low investment in education and infrastructure.
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Myth of world peak oil -- Oil is not running out, but the balance of economic power will gradually shift to those who control oil - and those who learn to live with less of it.
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European Union and economic evolution -- the EU is an alliance of countries that function as a single economy, representing the next phase in economic evolution.
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Bolivarism in Latin American economies -- Free trade has created a stronger unity known as "Bolivarism", after Simon Boliver, South America's liberator.
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Russia and Central Asia economies -- Their reserves of oil and natural gas have made Russia and the former Soviet Union countries economically important.
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Economic effects of global warming -- Efforts to address global warming are changing the global economy, whether global warming ever does or not.
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Japan economic stagnation -- In two years, Japan has dropped from the world's second to fourth largest economy, despite 20 years of stimulation policies.
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Growth of ASEAN economies -- Countries in the Association of South East Asian Economies, (ASEAN) have created sophisticated market economies.
Other World Economic Trends
Here are other important global trends that didn't make it into the top ten.
- Growth of bilateralism -- The failure of the WTO's Doha round of trade negotiations has led to a new era of bilateralism, helping emerging market economies.
- Ongoing Middle East conflict -- This conflict has been ongoing ever since oil was discovered. Although newsworthy, it is a grid-locked situation, not a trend.
- Stagnant African economy -- Despite isolated success stories, the African economy has been, and will continue to be, stagnant thanks to geo-political restrictions.
- World Economic Reports -- Read reports from the WEF, the IMF, and the OECD, that confirm these Top 10 trends.
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