Increased fear of competition from emerging countries is also a natural consequence of the collapse of the speculative bubble in equities in 2000; stock markets in some countries fell to less than half their peak value. Once we saw our exaggerated hopes for our investments failing, we began to consider our other sources of income and wealth, only to confront the worldwide economic slowdown that began in 2001.
对来自新兴国家的竞争的恐惧也是2000年资产投机泡沫破裂的自然结果；一些国家的股市市值跌倒不及顶峰时期的一半。一旦我们发现对投资回报过高的期望不能实现时，就开始考虑其它收入和财富的来源。但此时所要面对的却是始于2001年的世界性经济增速放缓。高涨的经济焦虑自然引发了对外国竞争的日渐强烈的不安。