The Hindu Business Line : Towards a tripolar economy

The article "World economy: From uni-polar to tri-polar", (Business Line, February 8) made interesting reading. May I offer the following comments:In discussing a country's "impact on world growth," it may be more relevant to assess the scale of its trade, rather than the total size of its economy.

We are living in a bipolar world economy, with the United States and the European Union by far the two largest trading blocs. The European Union is in fact the world's biggest trader, accounting for 20 per cent of global imports and exports. (The EU's total economy is almost as big as that of the US).

As the EU is an economic union, with a common commercial policy and a single currency, it is no longer correct to rate the impact of its individual member-states on the world economy.

The US, China and India should be compared to the EU as a whole. We do not compare France, for example, to an individual US or Indian state.

Reginald Dale

Editor-in-Chief

European Affairs

The European Institute

Washington D.C.

Letters to the editor and contributions can be sent by e-mail to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Investing, SRI style

Action in the pipeline

The challenge before the PM

A guest at the G(7) in London — And India's role in the unfolding Asian Century

Fear not the Fed

`Banks will need Rs 30,000 cr more as capital' — Mr Balaji Swaminathan, Head-Corporate, ICICI Bank

Blue ocean strategy

Towards a tripolar economy

Inflation target