Till the dissolution of the Soviet Union, formally in 1989, in academic and popular discussions, the world used to be divided into three parts--the First; Second; and Third worlds. From an economic structure point of view, the First world economies consisted of the market economies, with freedom for entrepreneurs domestically, and relatively free trade in exports and imports. The US, EU and Japan were the main constituents.
The Second world was made up of centrally planned and administered economies, with state ownership of enterprises, and limited exports and imports; mainly through bilateral relations. Russia, the East European and Central Asian countries, were the main parts. The Third world consisted of all other countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Some countries of the third world adopted an export-led growth model in the 1960s and 70s. They achieved high economic growth, and got new labels such as the Newly Industrialized Countries (NIC); and the Asian Tigers. After the death of Mao in 1976, Deng began economic reforms in China in 1979, based on Special Economic Zones (SEZ), dedicated to exports. China has been growing at more than 10% per annum since then. In the Soviet Union, Gorbachev implemented Glasnost and Perestroika. Russia and the ex-CIS countries have also implemented changes towards a market economy.