Chapter 8 - The Five Groups of World Economies

Abstract

Instead of classifying the world simply into developed and developing countries, this chapter uses political economy criteria to group the world into five categories of fragile states, emerging states, oil exporting and Middle East countries, the two socialist countries of Russia and China, and the rest of industrialized countries. Such a classification is bold but contemporary, as the economic ingredients are taken into account in each of these groupings. The characteristics of each group, in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, are discussed, and their role in the world economy can then be analyzed. The five groupings also lay out the economic and political dichotomies in the global economy, showing the areas of growth and alliance, as well as areas of conflicts. The chapter ends by hypothesizing on the political economy among the five groups of countries, and makes some preliminary predictions as to how the groups would react in global development.