Introduction

During the 60 years between the end of World War II (WWII) and today, the global map of production of goods and services has changed significantly. Although three-quarters of global manufacturing still takes place in the Developed Countries (DCs), the share of the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) has risen considerably: from 5 per cent in 1953 (Dicken 1998) to almost 24 per cent in 2001 (UNCTAD Globstat 2001).