The word “modernization” has become ubiquitous in almost all major government policies and initiatives since the 2009 release of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s “Go Russia!” policy manifesto, where he called for the modernization of Russia’s economy and society. This has been especially evident in Russian foreign policy, which has been seeking to attract foreign investment in new high tech sectors of the Russian economy in order to further the cause of modernization.

Countries in Latin America, like most of the developing world, have been recovering much faster than the United States and other high-income countries from the world recession. The Latin American and Caribbean region grew about 6.1 percent in 2010 and is expected to grow 4.7 percent this year–as opposed to just 2.8 percent growth (2010-11) for the United States. So the prognosis for the region is relatively good, although less than average (6.5 percent in 2011) for the low-and-middle income countries worldwide. But it is worth looking at the current economic situation in historical perspective for a moment, because some changes have taken place that hardly anyone has noticed.

Know the World You Live In – Video Series:

Knight Kiplinger, Editor-in-Chief of Kiplinger.com joins us to explain the strength of the U.S. dollar and the international currency market.