This report will raise wider questions about why mobility seems to have slowed - whether it is a result of the education system, a reflection of the economy or a deeper pattern of social change.

BBC: Closing the opportunity gaps

The USA economy can tip into a pattern that resembles Japanese style stagnation or it can redefine and reinvent itself.

FORBES: Tipping Business (and the Economy) in the Right Direction

Stock markets also reflect the development of an economy, including the growth model, structure and pattern.

FORBES: Chinese Stock Market -- Buy In or Buyer Beware?

One would expect that the voting pattern could be influenced by large factors: the Iraq War, the state the economy, the price of gasoline.

NPR: Foley Scandal Changes Game of Washington Politics

If this pattern of growth were resuming, it would be good news: nearly half the world economy would be bouncing back.

ECONOMIST: BRICs, emerging markets and the world economy

Last quarter, China's economy grew at a pace of 7.9%, slightly better than analyst expectations and breaking a pattern of seven straight quarters of decline.

CNN: China's economy grows 7.8% for 2012, better than expected

The pattern of continually moving from low-end industries to more sophisticated ones has characterized the Japanese economy from the beginning and these days the Japanese are quietly feasting on such rich pickings as aerospace and telecommunications.

FORBES: Who's Winning: The Japanese or the Koreans?