the accuracy of the north–south divide has been challenged on a number of grounds. firstly, differences in the political, economic and demographic make-up of countries tend to complicate the idea of a monolithic south. globalization has also challenged the notion of two distinct economic spheres. following the liberalization of post-mao china initiated in 1978, growing regional cooperation between the national economies of asia has led to the growing decentralization of the north as the main economic power. the economic status of the south has also been fractured. as of 2015, all but roughly the bottom 60 nations of the global south were thought to be gaining on the north in terms of income, diversification, and participation in the world market. globalization has largely displaced the north–south divide as the theoretical underpinning of the development efforts of international institutions such as the imf, world bank, wto, and various united nations affiliated agencies, though these groups differ in their perceptions of the relationship between globalization and inequality. yet some remain critical of the accuracy of globalization as a model of the world economy, emphasizing the enduring centrality of nation-states in world politics and the prominence of regional trade relations.