The monograph presents, in the form of nine case studies, an examination of the changes taking place in the most powerful economies, representing three regions of the world: Europe, North and South America and Asia. An assessment of the international competitiveness of the world's leading economies has been undertaken, considering key areas of a modern economy, including international activity, trade, investment and business,.The study examines: Germany, France, the UK (including Northern Ireland), the United States of America, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan and India.A common framework for studying each economy was used, including: analysis of basic economic indicators; identification of membership in international organisations; analysis of the structure of international trade; examination of foreign direct investment flows; identification of transnational corporations hosted and an assessment of the degree of openness of the respective national economy. Each of the analyses is supplemented with a comprehensive study of the international competitiveness on the basis of a systemically-balanced model (developed by M. Rosińska-Bukowska). In assessing the competitiveness of economies for each of the 4 levels (micro-, meso-, macro- and meta-economic level), identical parameters were studied |