6. A new economic geography For the past 50 years economic power has been firmly rooted within the United States, Europe and Japan. As recently as 1990, the only emerging markets in the world’s top 10 economies were Russia and Brazil, in seventh and eighth place respectively. Today that list would include China as the world’s fourth-largest economy and by 2015 it is likely to feature India and South Korea. The world is moving from an era of geographically concentrated economic power to one characterized by multiple centers of economic and business activity.