3.7B: Trends, Winners and Losers

• Winners:

  • There were about 1800 billionaires worldwide in 2016; most have made their wealth through ownership of global TNCs
  • Developed countries have proven very good at maintaining their wealth, despite the rise of emerging countries like China
  • The rising middle class of factory and call centre workers in Asia, whose incomes have risen as they have gained outsources and offshored jobs. 
  • People who work for TNCs in developed countries who have a high income and reasonable job security, although they lead high-stress lives. 
• Losers

  • Isolated, rural populations in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa where subsistence farming still dominates and global connections are thin.
  • Workers (especially male ones) in old industrial cities in the developed world who have generally lost jobs.
  • Workers in sweatshop factories in emerging countries; they suffer exploitation (but may still be better off than in the rural areas they migrated from)
  • Slum dwellers in developing world cities like Lagos, as the reality of urban life is often much worse than they expected.