In the new global economy, more countries have opened up to
international competition and rapid capital flows. However, in the triad
the process of globalization is rather asymmetric. With a rising role of
multinational companies there are favorable prospects for higher global
growth and economic catching-up, respectively. Theoretical analysis
suggests key ingredients of sustained growth, but there is also a new
concept of a long-term equilibrium income gap in which convergence is
rather unlikely. The analysis also picks up European and US labor market
issues in the context of economic globalization and raises the question
of which EU policies in the field of labor market reform and of
innovation policies are adequate.