What the current recession has highlighted is the increased dependence of the world on the health of the US economy. Whereas there had been a view that the emergence of different trading blocs such as the EU and an Asian bloc (a tri-polar solution) could reduce dependence on the US, trade and financial linkages have become even stronger, thereby increasing the degree of synchronicity.
The recession has also highlighted the disproportionate burden placed on monetary policy to bring about the required real adjustments. This raises a question of the efficiency of the current international financial architecture that renders the whole world increasingly dependent on the state of the US economy. Emerging markets are hardest hit as capital flows dry up precisely at times when they are needed.