Decoupling refers to 1. that china operates independently from the rest of the world. 2. that international trade flows within the norther and the southern hemisphere a trend as a result of bric. 3. unlinking international trade dependencies between developing nations and developed nations. 4. that europe and usa have different economic philosophies.

I would say, according to research on this topic, that the best answer to your question: Decoupling refers to:___, would be, 3. Unlinking international trade dependencies between developing and developed nations.

Explanation:

After the crisis of 2008, when it was expected that all nations in the world would suffer enormously with the recession in the United States, a different reality appeared. Some nations, especially in Asia and Latin America, although impacted, did not suffer as greatly as developed nations like Germany, or Japan, and instead, showed a recovery in their GDP´s, even with the U.S´ situation and the fact that their products could not be bought. These nations are known as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the way that their economies responded to the crisis in the United States and the global recession gave birth to a theory known a the Decoupling hypothesis, which proposed that since these economies had become independent from international trade with the developed nations, like the U.S, giving priority to trade with other nations and within themselves, they were able to respond effectively to the crisis and even show GDP growth.

liverpool, trent alexander arnold

explanation: