The 50th World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from the 21-24 January. Since the first meeting in 1971, the global economy has undergone a transformation.

If you look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1970, half the index is made up of manufacturing companies – with mining, chemical and oil businesses accounting for nearly 30 percent.

Fast forward to 2020, and manufacturing is still the biggest sector,  but technology companies make up 17 percent of the index. Financial services and insurance – which didn't feature at all half a century ago – account for 20 percent. 

Another change is that so-called stakeholder capitalism – the idea that companies should exist to serve more than just their shareholders  – is much more prevalent now than it was half a century ago. 

One example is the Business Roundtable, which brings together CEOs of top US companies and has recently revised its purpose to include a commitment to all stakeholders. 

There's also been a huge rise in the number of certified B-Corporations – companies that have verified social and environmental commitments.

According to B Lab Inc, the number of B-Corps has gone up a huge 366 percent since 2014.

Where in the world are these firms from?

The location of companies influencing the global economy also looks different now from 50 years ago – with emerging economies playing a much bigger role. 

Data from PricewaterhouseCoopers show that since 2009, the number of Chinese businesses in the 100 biggest companies in the world has risen by 141 percent.

On top of that, the world's population is much more mobile. According to the United Nations, the number of international migrants has risen 78 percent since 1990. 

The mobility of people has changed the nature of the economy in many countries. The number of non-residents in Singapore and the UAE, for example, has risen massively in recent years.  

That spike in migration filled in labor gaps, transformed the economy, and led to Singapore becoming one of the most successful financial hubs in the world. 

But, while migration has solved some issues, others have actually increased over the past 50 years. Income inequality within countries has widened – in some cases dramatically. Analysts say it's because of huge educational inequality, and a tax system that's become less progressive. 

Although inequality within countries has widened, figures from the World Inequality Report show inequality between countries has decreased since 1970 – driven by the economic rise of countries such as India and China.