As the recession ends, consumer confidence is widespread. For some, however, there was never a recession. In China and India, optimism remains at an all time high. The effects of globalization that were expected early last decade, that of outsourcing these growing countries to even cheaper labor, has produced the opposite effect. Companies like Brazil’s Embraer, a jetliner corporation, buys its component parts from Western countries, and assembles its products at home.

China and India lead the pack, as college graduates, graduate degrees, and satisfaction with life has risen dramatically over the past ten years. This is in large part thanks to a new sort of innovation, one that leaves many Western countries scratching their heads about how to remain competitive. New design methods that allow for even more widespread accessibility, especially among an emergent consumer class. Simpler and cheaper is the new “new and improved” and these once third world countries are showing everyone how to do it, from cars to computers. Population booms expect more than 5 billion Asians by 2050, and a doubling of Africa’s denizens, from 1 billion in 2010 to 2, over the next 40 years.   Competing on a global scale is what these emerging market companies are after, and not only are they achieving it, but they in fact, are leading the way.