evidence: There have been important changes over the past few decades in country rankings based on manufacturing output. Most nations show fairly stable patterns over the past 40 years, but a few have increased their performance. One such example is India, which improved its output ranking from 14th in 1990 to sixth in 2015. In contrast, Spain had dropped in manufacturing performance from ninth in 2005 to 14th in 2015. The same is true for Russia, as it was ranked second in manufacturing output in 1980 but now has dropped to 15th in the world. [...] During this time period, one nation that improved considerably is India. It raised its output ranking from 14th in 1990 to sixth in 2015. In contrast, Spain dropped in manufacturing performance from ninth in 2005 to 14th in 2015. The same is true for Russia, as it was ranked second in manufacturing output in 1980 but now has dropped to 15th in the world.