As access to global markets increases, competitive advantage falls to those economic regions that develop successful adaptive strategies. The advantage of expanded export markets is offset by the disadvantage of competition from imported goods and services. But trade as an survival mechanism seems to be inevitable in civilizations — and people seem to be naturally and incurably curious about products from distant markets, even when they're fully capable of creating their own. How else to explain the huge dollar volume in movie exports from the U.S., or the consistent high prices of certain imported autos in the U.S.?

Focusing on the design process, which implies a renewed interest in product quality and marketing strategy, is one of the strongest adaptive strategies available to all world economic regions. Jane Jacobs in Cities and the Wealth of Nations (1985 Vintage, New York) has this to say:

"Economic life develops by grace of innovating: it expands by grace of import replacing. These two master economic processes are closely related, both being functions of city economies. Furthermore, successful import-replacing often entails adaptations in design, materials or method of production, and these require innovating and improvising, especially of producers' goods and services."