Peter F. Drucker Boxed Set (8 Books) (The Drucker Library)

CHAPTER FOUR

From World Trade to World Investment

INTERNATIONAL TRADE HAS BEEN steadily slowing down for most of the past decade. But international investment is booming as never before. It has now become the dominant factor in the world economy. Most of it is investment in securities, of course. But the growing portion—by now, a third or more—is permanent investment in manufacturing and financial services.

Traditionally investment has followed trade. But trade is increasingly becoming dependent on investment.

U.S. exports in the years of the overvalued dollar would have been even lower had the European subsidiaries of American companies and American ...