The word "economic" refers to money. It can be used to discuss trade (the buying and selling of goods and services by people around the world).


"Interdependence" between two or more things -- like people or even countries -- refers to both people/countries depending on the other ones for something they need.

Countries around the world are more "economically interdependent" on each other today than ever before. This is because ideas and information travel faster than they have at any time in human history. It is also because the resources that each country of the world has access to differ greatly and, with modern transportation services, can be moved about more easily than in the past.

Please read the following example of how three countries around the world can be considered economically interdependent:

The rubber needed to make athletic shoes can be found in Thailand. The labor (people) needed to put the shoes together work for the lowest amount of money in China. The people of the United States have the strongest demand for the athletic shoes. So the people of Thailand depend on China to buy there rubber and the people of the U.S. to buy the shoes produced from that rubber. The people of China depend on Thailand to produce that rubber and the people of the United States to buy the shoes that are produced. And the people of the United States are dependent on the people of Thailand to produce the rubber needed for the shoes desired, and also dependent on the people of China to produce those shoes.
In the space below, write your own example similar to the one you see above. In your example, please include three countries that are economically interdependent on each other. Discuss what each country has that the others depend on it for, and specific ways that they each depend on one and other. (5 pts per country described, including how that country depends on the other two)