Introduction

Globalization is transforming development. This section examines how, in its scope and speed, the recent rise of the developing world is unprecedented – eclipsing the rise of the newly industrializing countries after the Second World War, and dwarfing the earlier rise of Europe and North America in the late 19th century. There are many reasons why the developing world has achieved economic lift-off. One of the most important is its integration into the world economy – and the new access to markets, technology and investment that has resulted. This rise of the developing world is one of four recent trends that holds new development opportunities while also bringing new challenges. The same is true for three other trends identified here: the spread of production chains, high commodity prices, and growing economic interdependence.