World Bank president Robert Zoellick states the obvious. But the economic crash only highlighted this geo-economic shift, it did not precipitate it.
“If 1989 saw the end of the ‘Second World’ with Communism’s demise, then 2009 saw the end of what was known as the ‘Third World’. We are now in a new, fast-evolving multi-polar world economy in which some developing countries are emerging as economic powers, others are moving towards becoming additional poles of growth, and some are struggling to attain their potential within this new system – where North and South, East and West, are now points on a compass, not economic destinies.”
“If it is no longer possible to solve big international issues without developing and transition country involvement, it is also no longer possible to presume that their biggest members, the so-called BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – will represent all,” he said.
The more interesting part:
Asia’s stock markets now account for 32% of global market capitalization, ahead of both the US and the European Union, and that its share of the global economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms has risen from 7% 30 years ago to 21% in 2008.
The developing world as a whole has increased its share of global GDP in PPP terms from 33.7% in 1980 to 43.4%, according to Zoellick, who said sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia could grow by over 6% over the next five years.