Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat

Many people in the economic periphery of the world, especially countries in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa, have stalled in their development despite the increase in globalization. According to Thomas Friedman in his book, The World Is Flat, this phenomenon can be blamed on these certain countries’ lack of “reform retail.” Friedman describes the act of reform retail as the improvement that countries make on areas such as education or infrastructure. Without these improvements, environments in which to create productive businesses cease to exist. Without these environments, businesses that innovate and spread wealth will not be able to develop, which, in turn, severely inhibits these countries to make any real progress on their journey