Although economic globalization has come a long way, in one particular dimension – finance - it is very far from complete. As documented in the superb book by Maurice Obstfeld and Alan Taylor, Global Capital Markets, financial globalization has made its greatest strides in rich countries. Gross international capital flows, which have risen enormously in recent years, move primarily among rich countries.
The exchange of assets in these flows is undertaken to a large extent to enable individuals and businesses to diversify their portfolios, putting some of their eggs in the baskets of other rich countries. International capital is generally not flowing to poor countries and is thus not enhancing their development.