This transition has been made necessary by the extraordinary change taking place in the global economy, with explosive growth in worldwide trade and private investment centering on the emerging market economies. In the 1990s, developing countries have contributed 70 percent of the growth in global GDP and half the growth in world trade.
Economic change is about far more than numbers.
It is about change in people's lives. For many people, this change has been for the better. Many countries have cut their poverty rates by more than half and have expanded access to health, education, and social services to their entire population. Far more people now have access to economic opportunity than in the recent past. Meanwhile, communications technology is drawing people from around the world closer together.