Two thousand years ago, China and India had a 59% share of the world economy. They then fell spectacularly from grace. But by 2050, the world will be theirs again. What will that mean for us?

By 2050 the world's three biggest economies will be China, India and the United States, in that order. In "Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon," the economics editor of the Sunday Times examines the implications of this staggering shift in economic power - especially for North America and Europe.

The rise of China and India will be the outstanding development of the 21st century, raising fundamental questions about both the structure of the world economy and the balance of global geopolitical power. Will China still be a repressive and undemocratic regime, embracing free market economics but only when it suits? How aggressive a superpower will it be? And what about India, whose huge and growing population and economic prospects appear to guarantee prosperity? David Smith analyses the ways in which the world is tilting rapidly eastward, and examines all the implications of the shift in global power to Beijing and Delhi - a shift that will creep up on us before we know it.

David Smith, author of "Free Lunch," is economics editor of the British newspaper The Sunday Times and an economic adviser to Rupert Murdoch. He is regularly on the radio and television in the UK, commentating on economic matters.