GLOBALIZATION AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

Key aspects of the world economy transformation in the context of globalization are studied in the article. Various kinds of the structural changes are analyzed. The article focuses on estimates of key macroeconomic indicators published by the United Nations, World Bank, UNCTAD, UNIDO, WTO and other international organizations for analyzing historical growth of the world's largest economies and countries groups. Apart of statistics and calculations presented here draw from studies by government agencies and research centers. It presents a quantitative analysis of the structural relationship between developed and developing countries. Also the article discusses points of view on the potential factors for continued structural changes in the future. Specific attention is paid to the growing influence and strengthening positions of the emerging industrial economies (EIE) within the world economy. The particular role of manufacturing in the formation of the modern world geo-economic space is considered in detail. As shows in the article share of Asia and Asia-Pacjfic Region in global manufacturing grew from 30.4 to 49.5 per cent between 1991 and 2016 at the expense of Europe and North America, whose shares fell respectively from 37.1 to 25.1 and from 21.9 to 17.4 per cent. There is specially emphasized that China is the world's largest economy in terms of GDP on purchasing power parity, size of manufacturing and merchandise trade. But the author's conclusion is that, despite the world's second place after China in quantitative indexes USA ranks first in the world in terms of quality indicators of economic and social development. The dynamism and creativity have made the USA the most innovative nation in the world.