a look inside

Last year, I had the chance to read the book Global Business by Mike W. Peng from the University of Texas. This post will summarize interesting facts about our global economy. Those facts are using data from 2008 and 2007.

Fact 1: The global economic pyramid is a classification of the world population by annual income level . The top tier represents approximately 1 billion with a GDP per capita superior to USD 20,000. The second tier is also 1 billion persons with a GDP per capita between USD 2,000 and USD 20,000. The last tier (base of the pyramid) represents 4 billion people with a GDP per capita less than USD 2,000 per year. The base of the pyramid represents the vast majority of the humanity with an income level of less than USD 167 per month to survive.

My question about the fact 1: How can we distribute the world income in way that everybody gets enough resources to survive and lead an healthy life?


Fact 2: The top economies of the world are United States, Japan, Germany, China, United Kingdom, France, and Italy. By far, United States is leading with an annual GDP of USD 13,201,819. The top companies of the world are Wal-Mart Stores, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP. The annual revenue of Wall-Mart Stores is bigger than the annual GDP of Poland, Austria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, etc... If we compile a global ranking of countries and companies, Wall-Mart Stores is ranked 22 just after Indonesia.

My question about fact 2: Viewing that Multi-National Enterprises are becoming as powerful as countries, what should be their role in the development of the world?

Fact 3: The top 3 leading merchandise exporters are Germany, United States, and China while the top 3 service exporters are United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. The top 4 merchandise and service importers are United States, Germany, China, and United Kingdom. One of the most resourceful continent in the world is Africa but none of the African nations is in the top 10 ranking of exports and imports. In 2008, the amount of subsidies received by farmers in the European Unions represented 1/3 of the annual income of all the sub-Saharian countries combined.

My question about fact 3: How can we keep trading without jeopardizing the competitiveness of poor and resourceful economies as a way to develop them?


Fact 4: The average hourly wage (in USD) of a factory worker in Germany is 19.80 and 0.43 in India. Even if the national purchasing power may be the same, the international purchasing power of both workers is totally unequal. The price of a Big Mac is 55% less in Hong Kong than in United States.

My question about fact 4: How can we balance international purchasing power across countries in order to have the same opportunities?

I hope that all those questions will be solved in the next decades so we can all benefits from globalization, development, opportunities, and freedom.