I think that is the wrong context to judge economic progress of a society. The world is more interconnected than ever before and gives an opportunity to those that did not know where Chennai or Columbus was on the map, to get a better understanding of the different societies that inhabit our planet. Yet individual nations should and are also becoming more self reliant on their respective organic growth to define currency of progress.
To say that the US is a superpower and that India or China is amongst the emerging economies is to me a fallacy or skewed view of reality. The reality is that the people in each country have to deal with the hand they have been dealt with the croupier they got.
In that sense while the US may have untold wealth and higher standards of living for its people crafted with its own struggle to build its infrastructures and fighting wars and shaping their government policy, it is not perfect.
But decisions made since WW II have served the American public well from coast to coast for over seven decades. Future is yet to be determined as past performance is no guarantee of what comes next.
With the economy of India the story is different with the government embarking on multi year policies of infrastructure development albeit with more man power than machine due to its own situation of higher populations and lower investment dollars.
As to its present state of affairs it has definitely grown its middle class with a surge in IT and manufacturing revenues that have had a trickle down effect to uplift some standard of living. Nothing dramatic but measurable nonetheless. Access to information now seems relatively easy and more is on the way. Information is power and that can be the large scale equalizer when it comes to forming public opinion or change in standard of living.
So now to the growth trajectory for the so called emerging nations - that is clearly going to be a function of developing country specific products and services and making them largely available and affordable. Examples would be - tech to provide clean drinking water or clean toilets in the rural portions (those that still qualify for this designation - what with all large metros expanding to gobble far outskirts making them part of the center) of the country. There is significant demand and people could change habits if the message is on point and it is affordable. Private sector investments aimed at seeking out a growth opportunity whether in food packaging or processing at low cost to ship out to urban centers for consumption could drive revenues to the hinterland.
This would be much different than what a so called developed world would invest in - where the need to utilize the workforce may be call center operators for US based business (moms in Oklahoma or Iowa) or mining to discover new minerals or ores that can find an export market for high dollars.
Once the closed loop functions well there is also opportunity to specialize and make it get wider acceptance beyond borders if that commodity is something that people will pay premium to obtain. Think Alphonso Mangoes. Think Boeing Aircraft.
But to get in to a rat race of which nation is going to lead the way in innovation or find the next Apple is myopic and perhaps detrimental to long term sustainability.
To say that the US is a superpower and that India or China is amongst the emerging economies is to me a fallacy or skewed view of reality. The reality is that the people in each country have to deal with the hand they have been dealt with the croupier they got.
In that sense while the US may have untold wealth and higher standards of living for its people crafted with its own struggle to build its infrastructures and fighting wars and shaping their government policy, it is not perfect.
But decisions made since WW II have served the American public well from coast to coast for over seven decades. Future is yet to be determined as past performance is no guarantee of what comes next.
With the economy of India the story is different with the government embarking on multi year policies of infrastructure development albeit with more man power than machine due to its own situation of higher populations and lower investment dollars.
As to its present state of affairs it has definitely grown its middle class with a surge in IT and manufacturing revenues that have had a trickle down effect to uplift some standard of living. Nothing dramatic but measurable nonetheless. Access to information now seems relatively easy and more is on the way. Information is power and that can be the large scale equalizer when it comes to forming public opinion or change in standard of living.
So now to the growth trajectory for the so called emerging nations - that is clearly going to be a function of developing country specific products and services and making them largely available and affordable. Examples would be - tech to provide clean drinking water or clean toilets in the rural portions (those that still qualify for this designation - what with all large metros expanding to gobble far outskirts making them part of the center) of the country. There is significant demand and people could change habits if the message is on point and it is affordable. Private sector investments aimed at seeking out a growth opportunity whether in food packaging or processing at low cost to ship out to urban centers for consumption could drive revenues to the hinterland.
This would be much different than what a so called developed world would invest in - where the need to utilize the workforce may be call center operators for US based business (moms in Oklahoma or Iowa) or mining to discover new minerals or ores that can find an export market for high dollars.
Once the closed loop functions well there is also opportunity to specialize and make it get wider acceptance beyond borders if that commodity is something that people will pay premium to obtain. Think Alphonso Mangoes. Think Boeing Aircraft.
But to get in to a rat race of which nation is going to lead the way in innovation or find the next Apple is myopic and perhaps detrimental to long term sustainability.
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