Regional Profiles

• World Tour
• Common Trends

 

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World Tour
Every corner of the globe has different advantages and different struggles; different industries and different ways of life. Move your mouse over the map shown below to get a general understanding of difference among regions. Countries and regions of particular interest have been highlighted in a list following this map.
 

• POLL

  What region do you think will have the most successful economy 50 years from now? North America Central America South America Europe Africa Middle East Asia Oceania Show Results

  United States
  The United States controls over ten percent of the goods produced and naturally obtained as resources throughout the world. The wealth of this nation has promoted it as a leader in globalisation. The US is also very conscious that developing nations with rich resources are large players with newly place multinational businesses that allow these countries to produce completed goods for resources for export.
   
• Eastern Asia
  China, Thailand, Vietnam were all strong countries in the late 20th centuries production and economy. These nations capitalize on cheap workers. The major exports that lead in the worldwide field are electronic appliances and automobiles. As the century drew to a close, the value of Eastern money was cut in half in most regions. This stemmed from an initial crash in Thailand in 1997. Unemployment and debt were vast. Governments were left in turmoil as nations had to assess opportunities for reorganisation to deal with the national debt. Japan experienced its huge rebound following the end of World War II when it accepted guidance and was very technologically strong. China is very dense in population and natural resources, but the government was unable to properly use these resources at market value. China also treats its labor poorly. In order to grow, the nation must first sort out its humanitarian treatment on the domestic front to achieve international success.
   
• Southern Asia
  India, an area enclosed in this region, has a booming population. The economy of this country does not match its staggering size; the economy is about equal to that of the Netherlands, yet its population is the second largest in the world. The people of this land are on a whole undereducated and have experienced very little government peace. Estimates in Nepal predict that each person makes about $200 each year, and the region accounts for about one percent of world trade.
   
• The Middle-East and Northern Africa
  While portions of the Mid-East are rich with oil to export, countries that share borders to these rich lands lack the valuable resource and the people are destitute. Just as political unrest can disrupt the value of a land, religious struggles in this region are preventative of true economic growth. People in these dictator-led countries experience very limited freedoms or rights. Oil does involve potential risks to the populations depending upon its revenue; the extreme differences in the very wealthy and poor are fostered in this environment. The sale of oil overseas is consistently unstable, as well.
   
• Africa
  Much of Africa lacks resource of land that could be used for agriculture. The people are left with little potential income, thus resulting in a nation of poverty, starvation, and disease. In 1994, the African people were feeding their population less than a quarter of the food they depended upon 23 years prior. Africa struggles to lead and teach its own people and is unable to spread to another market. Much of Africa’s trade relies upon pockets of hidden resources in the country.
   
• Latin America
  Latin America has made significant contributions to trade, though not evenly throughout the region. Political troubles, drug smuggling, and poor management have blocked growth in certain areas, like Brazil and Mexico. Unpredictable weather patterns leave crop income unpredictable.
   
• Eastern Europe
  Unlike Germany that was able to economically rebound following the World Wars, Russia and surrounding countries struggled with life after communism. Although Russia has tremendous supplies and the largest land area of any country, the nation battles for success. Georgia reported a negative growth rate as did some other countries in the area. Welfare recipients are a large part of society, and many other workers are not compensated for their duties. Hopefully Russians will acclimate to a new system of government and economy.
   
• Europe
  As a whole, European countries provide 20% of worldwide product. The wealthiest nations are located on this continent. These nations struggle to compensate and provide for weaker areas of the European make-up. The Euro currency will be linking more economies together in the future as Europe continues to flow with growth and changes.
   

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Common Trends

POLL

Do you think it is reasonable that countries specializing in services should --- by and large --- be more economically successful than those creating products? Yes No Show Results

Now that you have had a chance to review the socioeconomic backgrounds of nations, you may well have recognized several patterns among them. These similarities are scarcely a coincidence; whether due to political ties, resource avaiability, emphasis on education, or otherwise, the positions and directions of countries can vastly influence their level of competitiveness in the global marketplace. Consider the following in particular:

• Population
  The most successful economies in the world are typically those with a substanial but controlled population. While a large density of citizens in a given region may provide a substantial amount of labor to the local market, the availability of resources to support such a population is often difficult to sustain. Of course, by contrast, areas without enough residents suffer from an inadequate workforce that cannot compete as strongly as other regions.
   
• Education
  Regions that direct a high percentage of their resources toward education consistently enjoy a favorable results: industry develops a demand for highly-skilled workers as unique products are developed that cultivate the almost infinite inventory of intellectual property.
   
• Resource Availability
  Oddly enough, those nations with the highest abundence of resources to the present are frequently among the less well-suited of economic competitors. However, groups such as the WTO and OPEC are working to revise the status quo, implementing self-inflicted production cuts and other equitable mechanisms to control the supply of a given commodity in the marketplace at a given time. Ultimately, it is hoped that this will balance the tables of trade in order to allow resource-abundant nations to better realize the gains from their nation's product.
   
• Industry Concentration
  Economies oriented toward intellectual property and services are at least moderately more successful than others much of the time. This pattern is most clearly traced to the type of workforce behind a region; skilled workers become a limitted commodity in themselves, forcing high wages which in turn proliferate to the overall quality of life in the area. However, in nations where an economy revolves around a product base or function (e.g., oil, manufacturing, etc.), the high availability of product and/or labor forces prices down, as nations bid increasingly lower for projects and sales. This is unquestionably the leading moral issue in the current global economy, as nations negotiate with each other and with their own people about what is possible, practical, and fair.
   

To best understand globalisation, it is important to think intuitively about these and other factors related to national welfare around the world. As you continue your study of this field either through InterEcon or elsewhere, try to make these connections automatically; the level of understanding you will achieve by doing so will undoubtedly be highly rewarding!

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