ABSTRACT
This chapter describes international mutual dependence and its role as a driving force behind economic development in the world as it now exists. Mutual dependence is a consequence of resource imbalances and it involves a blending of comparative advantages and the ability to trade. Just as two or more people can be mutually dependent, international mutual dependence involves two or more countries. Global agriculture's influence on market evolution has been widespread and circular: the evolution of some markets helped create global agriculture, which, in turn, helped other markets evolve. At this point in global economic development, most agricultural commodities have markets spreading across many countries and continents. These 'global' markets are relatively new additions to the world's economy, but they have already had major impacts on the course of economic development. The existence of trade signals awareness on the part of each person or nation involved in trading that they and their trade partners are mutually dependent to some degree.
