While gross domestic product growth is cooling a bit in emerging market economies, the results are still tremendous compared with the United States and much of Western Europe. The emerging market economies posted a 6.7% jump in real GDP in 2008, down from 7.5% in 2007. The advanced economies grew an estimated 1.6% in 2008. The difference in growth rates represents the largest spread between emerging market economies and advanced economies in the 37-year history of the survey.
Do growth rates over the past few decades indicate that gaps in real GDP per person around the world are shrinking, growing, or staying the same? Explain.