The New World Order While gross domestic product growth is cooling a bit in emerging market economies, the results are still tremendous compared with the United States and much of Western Europe. The emerging market economies posted a 6.7% jump in real GDP in 2008, down from 7.5% in 2007.

The advanced economies grew an estimated 1.6% in 2008. The difference in growth rates represents the largest spread between emerging market economies and advanced economies in the 37-year history of the survey.

Source: Fortune, July 14, 2008 Do growth rates over the past few decades indicate that gaps in real GDP per person around the world are shrinking, growing, or staying the same? Explain.