National Innovation: Mobilizing Nations for the 21st Century Economy

Rarely have international economic fundamentals undergone such rapid and dramatic transformation, In a period of little more than two decades, China emerged from Communist isolation to become one of the most dynamic economies in the world- With the World Trade Organization establishing itself as one of the most important international associations, freer trade and the development of a globally integrated economy became the key development of the last years of the 20th century. Outsourcing emerged as one of the most important commercial processes of a generation, as manufacturers relocated factory operations to low-cost countries, particularly China, and in one of the most unexpected shifts in many generations, service companies capitalized on liberalized laws and communications technologies to move thousands of white-collar Jobs from industrial nations to emerging economies. Casting a pall over the otherwise remarkable and positive international changes were the unrelenting poverty of sub-Saharan Africa and large portions of Central and South America, religiously based conflicts that destabilized the Middle East and launched an era of global terrorism, the depressing decay of Russia, looming international oil and gas shortages and skyrocketing prices, falling birth rates in the industrial world and ominous environmental dangers associated with global warming.