also flows within, between or among transnational corporations. Recent figures show that between 30 and 40 per cent of the trade of several rnajor developed countries is intra-firm -that is, it occurs within a transnational corporation's affiliate network. After adding interfirm transactions, transnational corporations account for over three fourths of the countries' total international trade. ~/ 2. Changing investment patterns 11. The average annual growth rate of world foreign direct investment outpaces both global merchandise exports and world economic output. Total world stock of foreign direct investment increased from $519 billion in 1980 to $1,023 billion by the end of 1987. ~/ Within this general expansion, significant changes are occurring in the national origin and destination of new foreign direct investment, thereby altering the make-up and distribution of the' transnational corporation community. These trends foster accompanying changes in the traditional geo-political pattern of home and host country roles,. particularly among the developed countries, laying the basis for similar alterations in.their policy outlook on specific transnational cotporation issues. 12. The United States, historically the world's top supplier of direct investment capital and home to the largest nUJTiber of transnational corporations, has attracted ptogressively larger inflows of direct investment funds. ii As a result, that country now plays host to approximately as much direct investment from other countries as United States-based transnational corporations have invested abroad. Conversely, Western Europe has maintained, over the 1970s and 1980s, a roughly balanced position as both a supplier and recipient of foreign direct investment. The trend might now be affected by the recent pick-up of investments in Europe as corporations seek to position themselves in anticipation of the implementation of European Community internal market reforms in 1992 •. 51 Investment patterns are shifting in Canada as well, long viewed as an atypical developed country in that it 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the growth and changes in transnational corporations, their trade and investment patterns, and their impact on the global economy. The focus is on the flow of goods, services, and capital across borders, and the shifts in the national origin and destination of foreign direct investment. This suggests that the category related to international trade and economic development is the most fitting.

**Category**
International trade, Economic development