Introduction
Economic power is often political power achieved through economic means. For example, refusing to trade with a country until it changes some aspect of its culture or government.  Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, many countries around the world refused to deal economically with South Africa until Apartheid was repealed, which occurred in the early 1990's.  In other cases, economic power is the ability to affect the lives of others through withholding trade, or the raising of prices on goods.  The oil crisis of the 1970's is an example of this point.  In any case, economic power is often needed to adequately express political or social power.  The golden rule often applies, "He with the most gold, rules."

Interdependence
Interdependence is the reliance of people on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world.  This interaction is mutually beneficial and most often takes the form of trade and cultural diffusion. Exchanges of this type occurred throughout the ancient Middle East, along the Silk Road from China, and between great civilizations, such as the Byzantine and the Islamic Empires. The economic power these countries control was significant, as many could not survive without this trade.  Countries like China could negatively affect the lives of people as far away as Europe through trade.  However, because of the interdependent nature of this power, if the people of Europe failed to purchase Chinese goods, the same affects in reverse could be achieved.

Interdependence continues to grow today due to rapid exchange of ideas, goods, and services through advanced communications.  An example of interdependence today is Great Britain importing American autos, Indian tea, and oil from the Middle East. In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed by Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Their goal was to control the oil industry by setting prices and production levels.  Control of the majority of the world's oil supply has given OPEC significant power.  In 1973, OPEC stopped the sale of oil to certain countries, namely the U.S.. This caused a major slow down of many western nation's economies, and made them realize how dependent they were on foreign oil.  This continues today with OPEC limiting production of oil, which in turn causes gas prices to soar.

Global Economies
The Global North, consisting of North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia are industrialized nations with high standards of living and a high literacy rate.  The Global South consists of developing nations in Asia, Africa, and South America, many of which were former colonies during European Imperialism.  These post colonial nations face low literacy rates, massive unemployment, little to no industrialization, and are generally economically dependent on their former colonial masters. The Global North controls most of the world's economic power, while much of the world's natural resources and 3/4's of its population reside in the Global South.  This results in the dependence of the South on the North for capital for growth, finished goods, and food.  The North often exploits the South for cheap labor and raw materials.

Regional Cooperation:  Many nations have linked their economies officially by joining cooperatives or through treaties. The European Union is an example of a group of nations working to unify economically.  The EU has worked for years to lower tariffs and institute free trade among its member nations.  Recently, many of its nations switched to a single currency, the Euro.  The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is another example of nations attempting to lower trade barriers and link their economies.  Regional cooperation extends the power of countries that otherwise would not be on the world stage.

Banking: Industrialized nations make loans to developing nations to help with modernization efforts.  As the world economy slowed in the 1980s, many of these nations were unable to keep up with the loan payments.  The International Monetary Fund negotiated deals between these countries for repayment.  In exchange for lower interest rates, many developing nations were forced to accept free market principles. This is an example of economic power having political consequences.

Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim is a group of nations in Asia and the Americas that border the Pacific Ocean.  Economic interest in this area has grown dramatically since the end of World War II.  Many predict that the Pacific Rim will come to dominate world economics due to their large market size.  Many nations in this area, including, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea (known as the Asian Tigers) have experienced rapid economic growth and prosperity due to industrialization.  These nations were also aligned both politically, and economically with the West throughout the Cold War. 

United Nations
Besides its political and social functions, the United Nations also has a number of economic functions.  These mainly concern the promotion of economic cooperation among member nations, ending poverty and famine, and providing disaster relief.  In the years since its inception, the U.N. has helped many countries and millions of people economically.  In the 1960's the U.N. sent relief to Biafra during the Nigerian civil war.  This action saved million from starvation.  The U.N. has also relieve famine in Somalia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka. Through special agreements with other independent agencies, the U.N. continues to promote economic growth and stability throughout the world.

International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization established to promote monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and economic growth.  The IMF also works to lower unemployment and help countries in debt manage their finances.  Because of the large debt owed to the Global North from the Global South, many of these countries need the IMF to keep up payments while still attempting to build an independent economy.  Recently, their have been calls for the industrial nations to forgive the debt owed by the developing nations of the South.  This means they would have a chance to start fresh.  So far, this has not occurred. Because of its role in these matters, the IMF wields considerable power.

World Bank
The World Bank Group is a vast financial resource owned and controlled by its membership of over 180 countries.  The purpose of the bank, established in 1944, is to provide loans and economic advice to its member countries.  In 2001, the bank provided over 17.3 billion dollars in loans to over 100 different developing nations.  These loans, along with good financial advice are intended to bring these developing nations out of poverty and allow them to become economically independent.  The World Bank Group also wields considerable power due to the amount of money they have at their disposal.