Population increases that exceed growth rates compound the problems of most African countries. Falling per capita GDPs in African countries will persist for several reasons, including the existence of unstable governments, foreign debts, lack of educational skills, agricultural problems, and dependence on minerals and a few other products of export which will affect their terms of trade negatively. The rest of Latin America has its share of economic problems one of which is the high level of foreign debt. Raw materials and agriculture remain the main source of comparative advantage. Globalism, privatization, and regionalism are the three main currents in the world today.
Technological innovation is a driving force in the world economy and has no distinctive nationality.
As technology has developed , it has become an increasingly internationally marketable commodity. A globalized market for goods and services has also resulted from rapid technological developments that have greatly diminished the costs of international transportation and communication, and international trade manufacturing products has been boosted by the trend toward convergence in per capita incomes and demand patterns of industrial countries. There also has been a globalization of financial markets in that the pool of savings is worldwide, and financial intermediaries know no international boundaries. Finally companies manufacturing a particular product increasingly think in terms of the advantages of international locations rather than purely in terms of domestic production. At the same time and as a counter globalization there are trends towards regionalism.