Over the past several years, the most talked-about trend in the global economy has been the so-called rise of the rest, which saw the economies of many developing countries swiftly converging with those of their more developed peers.

As the United States' relative power declines, will the open and rule-based liberal international order Washington has championed since the 1940s start to erode? Probably not.

Trade problems are an underlying cause of the financial crisis. To truly revive the world economy, a new trade consensus is necessary.

The massive growth of hedge funds has sparked warnings of instability and demands that the industry be regulated. But the fear of hedge funds is overblown, based on a misunderstanding of their role in the international financial system. In reality, hedge funds do not increase risk; they manage it -- and policymakers, rather than clamping down, should make sure hedge funds have the tools to perform this function well.

As trade flows expanded and trade agreements proliferated after World War II, governments—most notably the United States—increasingly came to use their power over imports and exports to influence the behavior of other countries.  But trade is not the only way in which nations interact economically. Over the past two decades, another form of economic exchange has risen to a level of vastly greater significance and political concern: the purchase and sale of financial assets across borders.

As the effects of the financial crisis stretch beyond America and Europe, the world's emerging markets start to wobble and analysts wonder just how hard China, India, and other major developing nations will be hit.

China increasingly asserts itself as an emerging economic superpower, but the country also continues to face high-profile setbacks that tarnish its brand.

U.S. financial woes have thrown global markets into turmoil, undermining Western European banks, sending oil prices plummeting, and bringing harrowing losses to some developing economy stock indices.

Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states seek to diversify their economies beyond oil, but the project comes laden with risk.

The longstanding rivalry between once-conjoined India and Pakistan takes an economic twist as the countries turn 60.

Oft overlooked beside Chinese mega-investments in Africa, India too is pouring money into the continent. The relationship holds economic and political ramifications.

Moving away from fossil fuels could be devastating for some of the world's poorest countries, says Michael A. Levi.

Jagdish Bhagwati argues that growth can reduce poverty and that slow economic growth will hurt social development, which he also argues in his new book with Arvind Panagariya, "India's Tryst with Destiny: Debunking Myths that Undermine Progress and Addressing New Challenges."

Joshua Kurlantzick shares an excerpt from his new book, Democracy in Retreat, which revolves around a disturbing thesis: that after a steady increase in the number of democracies in the world for nearly a century, autocratic rule is on the march.

Charles A. Kupchan argues that the twenty-first century will witness a global power transition as China, India, Brazil, and other rising states challenge Western dominance.

Terra Lawson-Remer and Joshua Greenstein say, "Many resource-rich African countries make poor use of their wealth... Instead of creating prosperity, resources have too often fostered corruption, undermined inclusive economic growth, incited armed conflict and damaged the environment."

Isobel Coleman and Ashley Harden discuss the impact of mobile telecommunications technology on the developing world and its access to financial services.

Joshua Kurlantzick argues that state capitalism can be conducive to innovation.

Yanzhong Huang discusses efforts toward universal health coverage in emerging economies.