The degree to which a country is dependent on foreign economic, social, and political forces is related to its size, resource endowment, and political history.  Most small nations are highly dependent on foreign investment and trade with the developed world.  The people living in these relatively small nations are dependent on the importation of foreign capital intensive technologies of production.  Looking beyond the economic manifestations of goods and service dependence is the transmissions of education and governed values.  This is the foundation of how people attitudes are in life and consumption patterns.  More or less this is the social destiny of a nation when they have become dependent on external forces. Many economies particularly those of less developed countries, still are oriented around primary products like: agriculture, fuel, forestry, and raw materials.  These commodities form their main exports to other nations who are both developed and less developed.  When examining a poor country, a solution to some of their exposure is foreign exchange and domestic savings.  You may be wondering where the private foreign investment and foreign aid are; well they exists but typically they account for a fraction of the annual flow of foreign currency. For many less developed countries low levels of living, rising unemployment, and growing income inequality are all contributors to unequal distribution of economic and political power.  This tension between rich and poor nations are the direct effect of unequal strengths in the dominant power in controlling the patterns of international trade.  It seems that the governments of rich nations today act systematically and intentionally against the interests of many developing economies.  It is safe to say that the sources of economic progress can be traced to a variety of external factors.  However, if investments are made to improve the quality of existing resources, raise productivity in specific sectors, innovate, and improve technological progress, all of which will assist with stimulating economic growth in the economy and currencies.   Bibliography Economic Development- Comparative Data.http://economics.about.com/od/realinterestrates/Real_Interest_Rates_vs_N... International Finance and Accounting Handbook. Educational Resourceshttp://www.frbsf.org/education/activities/drecon/answerxml.cfm?selectedu... MacroEconomics- Sizth Edition. By: Charles L. Schultze pg.86http://books.google.com/books?id=RhfnbtDQFGcC&pg=PA86&dq=real+vs+nominal...