As such, this what if is a cautiously optimistic assessment of the downside risks stemming from weak external demand.

But now growth rates for Chinese exports and related indices in manufacturing have fallen, largely owing to weak external demand, especially in Europe.

Weak external demand is partly responsible for the falloff in growth, but internal factors namely, slowing investment and stagnating consumption are also holding back economic expansion.

Indeed, many of these countries remain vulnerable to volatile commodity prices, financial system weaknesses, depressed demand from world markets, and shortfalls in external finance, overseas development assistance, and investment.

First, it depends heavily on rapid growth in foreign demand.

While there was a business cycle, no perceptible tendency toward chronic demand weakness appeared.

In the US, the weak dollar will be a powerful boost to net exports, and thus to aggregate demand.

Long term growth depends not on foreign demand, but on domestic supply.

But if external demand lags, products accumulate, prices decline, and profits fall.

China s GDP growth fell dramatically, owing to the collapse of external demand.

The impact on growth will almost certainly be negative, even if domestic demand compensates fully for the decline in external demand.

They demonstrate clearly that China is prepared to compensate for export weakness by stimulating domestic demand.

The weaker peseta would stimulate demand for Spanish exports and reduce Spain s imports, which would boost domestic demand and reduce unemployment.

Since the amount of foreign reserves available to defend a weak currency (a currency in low demand) is limited, a currency crisis or devaluation could be the end result.

German exports would also benefit from a weaker euro, boosting overall economic demand in Germany.

With private sector demand still weak, austerity is slowing, not accelerating, recovery.

The bad news is that Asia seems to be learning little from repeated external demand shocks.

It moves economic growth away from a dangerous over reliance on external demand, while shifting support to untapped internal demand.

Indeed, China s dilemma is emblematic of one of developing Asia s greatest challenges the need to tilt the growth model away from external toward internal demand.

Indeed, the central challenge of economic development is not foreign demand, but domestic structural change.

But the increasing external demand continues to drive production and undermine the creation of sustainable and competitive alternative means of livelihood.

Finally, as is true in many of the advanced countries, weak demand constrains Italy s short and medium term growth.

But it is becoming increasingly difficult for factories in the region to remain in business under conditions of weak global demand and strong local currencies.

Devaluation renders exports more competitive, thus substituting external demand for the domestic demand that is being compressed.

Adding to China s labor woes, the financial crisis during the last two years had a disastrous effect on foreign demand.

In principle, foreign demand, especially in high growth emerging markets, could make up some of the difference.

Indeed, growth in earnings and profits is now running out of steam, as the effect of weak demand on top line revenues takes a toll on bottom line margins and profitability.

A shift to external demand is not there for the asking. It must be earned by hard work, sheer determination, and a long overdue competitive revival.

Somewhat faster demand growth in Germany and a lower external surplus would help not only Germany s trade partners, but also German savers.

Demand is therefore being drained out of the eurozone economies, with stronger external demand, stemming from the euro s depreciation against other major currencies, unable to offset the effect on growth.

When weak aggregate demand causes the economy to operate far below its potential, cuts in government spending enlarge the jobs deficit.

Rebalancing also involves a global demand switch from external deficit countries to those running large current account surpluses.

Because oil is priced in dollars, a weak dollar makes oil cheaper to users in other countries, which increases global demand.

Faced with sluggish external demand, weak domestic consumption, rising labor costs, and low productivity, China depends excessively on investment to drive economic growth.

External demand in the second half of 2011 is unlikely to be strong, owing to the shaky global recovery.

Reducing dependence on external demand for example, by promoting private sector investment and encouraging household expenditure is crucial.

Saturn has a hot interior, reaching 11,700 C at the core, and the planet radiates 2.5 times more energy into space than it receives from the Sun.

Businesses have responded negatively to the weakness of household demand, with indices maintained by the Institute of Supply Management falling for both manufacturing and service firms.

It is necessary because persistently weak global growth is unlikely to provide the solid external demand for Chinese exports that it once did.

They have to cut wages, pensions, and other costs in order to achieve the same gain in competitiveness needed to substitute external demand for internal demand.

And yet reliance on external demand remains fundamentally unchanged, even as the contribution of net exports to GDP growth has turned negative.

The 70 30 split underscores the challenge the US must face up to a fundamental rebalancing weaning itself from excessive reliance on internal demand and drawing greater support from external demand.

The driving force is external demand, as Germany, the world s second largest exporter, profits from the global boom.

Despite all the talk about the coming shift to internal demand, China remains heavily dependent on exports and external demand as major drivers of economic growth.

Vulnerability