A WHOLE LOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO:

Get Ready for a Growth Supercycle: Emerging markets could propel a global boom comparable to the industrialization of the United States. (IAN BREMMER, 3/01/11, WSJ)

With the turmoil rattling the Middle East these days, it's easy to miss the rising tide of optimism about the global economy. The good news is coming from multiple sources. A recent CEO survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers, for example, found a sharp spike in the number of business leaders who see strong growth for the year ahead. And for a long-term forecast, a report from analysts at Standard Chartered bank has produced the biggest buzz.

Standard Chartered argues that about 10 years ago, the global economy entered a "new super-cycle" of extended growth, one "driven by the industrialization and urbanization of emerging markets and global trade." The expansion is likely to last for "a generation or more." Forecasts in the report run through 2030.

We've seen this kind of surge before, say the bank's analysts. The first supercycle, driven by the industrial revolution and the emergence of the United States, developed between 1870 and 1913. The second wave, powered primarily by Europe's postwar reconstruction and a rise in Asian exports, ran from the end of World War II until the early 1970s.

The especially good news, according to the report's authors, is that though the third super-cycle will be driven mainly by emerging-market countries, particularly in Asia, "the winners will be global."