In the past decade, the emerging economies have seen a remarkable surge in their share of world factory production, with this trend having intensified over the past five years.

Now, there are some signs that the pace of change is slowing down. There seems every likelihood that in the second decade of the 21st century, the rate at which the so-called poor world catches up with the rich in manufacturing output will be a lot lower than in the first.

I examine some of these trends in my book The New Industrial Revolution: Consumers, Globalization and the End of Mass Production. One theme is that opportunities for countries to participate in manufacturing are beginning to level out. This is one result from a set of broad changes in global production that I have called the New Industrial Revolution.