The Asian Age Coming

Chart: Reshaping The Global Economy

Although I belong to those that believe that we will see a revival of the larger European economy in the years and decades ahead due to the restructuring now going on, there is no doubt that it is the Asian age that we are entering.

The linked graph from the latest issue of Business Week illustrates the conventional wisdom on how the global economy will change during the first half of this century. It's dramatic.

Things might develop differently, of course. China faces major challenges, and the weaknesses in its system are often overlooked. India, with its enormous potential, could face ethnic strife and political paralysis if things get really bad.

But overall the trends that we see in the graph are likely to endure over the coming decades.

After the first phase of globalisation with a European face, and the second phase with an American facee, we will surely enter a third phase of globalisation with an Asian face.