This note is a part of my Zettelkasten. What is below might not be complete or accurate. It
is also likely to change often.
Here we are comparing the GDP per capita of some countries:
GDP(US):GDP(Mexico) ~ GDP(Mexico):GDP(Kenya) ~ GDP(Kenya):GDP(Niger)
There is a huge amount of heterogeneity in the 'developing' countries - more than the difference between the top developing countries and the developed ones, so we cant put them in the same bucket. A crucial point is that the differences between the GDP of the developed countries and developing countries has been diverging and continues to diverge. The rich become richer and the poor become poorer.
Some ideas: *Geography: temperature, disease burden *Human capital: education *Physical capital *Institutions: democracy, corruption, etc *Historical
In many of these factors, the causality is not clear. For example: Does more education make countries richer or do rich counties improve education? Research is ongoing to isolate and determine this causality and its severity.
History is so often the product of thoughtlessness; it is the offspring of human stupidity, the fruit of benightedness, idiocy and folly. In such an instance it is enacted by people who dont know what they are doing"
History still defines the present - long, long after the face.
Some examples:
Marx thinks that economic greed of capitalists will fight each other and that fight would undermine them and give power to workers. He states that Capitalism will give way to Socialism in the same way that Feudalism gave way to the current system.
Acemoglu and Robinson (2000) state that those in power, as long as they are incentived to do so, will hold on to that power and will create institutions to perpetuate their hold over power. Especially since economic and political power are mutually reinforcing.
Culture moves very slowly and effects human relations long after the factor that shaped the culure is gone. This makes hard changes highly unlikely - Max Weber
There are many things that persist due to intertia or coordination failures (Collective Action Problems). This is a stated as a reason for external intervention.
Subcultural traits can persist but their environmental usefulness can change the usefulness of that trait. Institutions can persist into environments where are they are suboptimal and are supplanted by other institutions.
Acemoglu and Robinson say that this cycle cannot break without revolution. Good policies can arise only out of good politics.
One problem with this is the assuming that leaders know what are good and bad policies and are wilfully operating.
Institutions evolve piecemeal over time - there is no thing which emerges on its own, its a compromise between opposing views.
Accidents like droughts and floods can change the course of
If things dont change (either for good or bad), why act at all?
In times of great change, it often happens that the elites and political leaders and common men come together to create good institutions. They are a reaction to the moment.