These are quantities and processes we can measure. Let us look at some charts. The value of all world exports of goods and services relative to world GDP has increased by ten percentage points (from 19% to 29%) over the past 10-15 years (see Chart 3) and it is expected to continue to grow steadily until the end of the decade.
Even more impressive is the acceleration in total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) relative to world GDP (see Chart 4). Since the late 1990s, the pace of integration in the world economy, as illustrated by the stock of inward FDI as a percent of GDP, has accelerated substantially, particularly in non-Japan Asia and in the new Member States of the European Union (see Chart 5).