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How Rich Countries Became Rich and Why Poor Countries Remain Poor: It's the Economic Structure . . . Duh!

Author

Listed:
  • Jesus Felipe
  • Utsav Kumar
  • Arnelyn Abdon

Abstract

Becoming a rich country requires the ability to produce and export commodities that embody certain characteristics. We classify 779 exported commodities according to two dimensions: (1) sophistication (measured by the income content of the products exported); and (2) connectivity to other products (a well-connected export basket is one that allows an easy jump to other potential exports). We identify 352 "good" products and 427 "bad" products. Based on this, we categorize 154 countries into four groups according to these two characteristics. There are 34 countries whose export basket contains a significant share of good products. We find 28 countries in a "middle product" trap. These are countries whose export baskets contain a significant share of products that are in the middle of the sophistication and connectivity spectra. We also find 17 countries that are in a "middle-low" product trap, and 75 countries that are in a difficult and precarious "low product" trap. These are countries whose export baskets contain a significant share of unsophisticated products that are poorly connected to other products. To escape this situation, these countries need to implement policies that would help them accumulate the capabilities needed to manufacture and export more sophisticated and better connected products.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesus Felipe & Utsav Kumar & Arnelyn Abdon, 2010. "How Rich Countries Became Rich and Why Poor Countries Remain Poor: It's the Economic Structure . . . Duh!," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_644, Levy Economics Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_644
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Arnelyn Abdon & Jesus Felipe, 2011. "The Product Space: What Does It Say About the Opportunities for Growth and Structural Transformation of Sub-Saharan Africa?," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_670, Levy Economics Institute.
    2. Myriam Ben Saâd & Giscard Assoumou Ella, 2019. "Economic Complexity and Gender Inequality in Education: An Empirical Study," Post-Print hal-03426719, HAL.
    3. Myriam Ben Saâd & Giscard Assoumou-Ella, 2019. "Economic Complexity and Gender Inequality in Education: An Empirical Study," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 321-334.
    4. Magdalena Olczyk & Aleksandra Kordalska, 2018. "Growth And Structural Changes In Transition Countries – The Chicken Or The Egg?," GUT FME Working Paper Series A 49, Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdansk University of Technology.
    5. Jesus Felipe & Arnelyn Abdon & Utsav Kumar, 2012. "Tracking the Middle-income Trap: What Is It, Who Is in It, and Why?," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_715, Levy Economics Institute.
    6. Fernando Silva Lima & Mariano Yoshitake, 2018. "The Evidence of the Fiscal Incentive to Increase the HDI: The Case of Maranhao," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 9(4), pages 214-223, July.
    7. Upalat Korwatanasakul, 2023. "Thailand and the Middle-Income Trap: An Analysis from the Global Value Chain Perspective," PIER Discussion Papers 202, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Renat Butabaev, 2015. "There is no growth without change - policy implications for transition economies," Montenegrin Journal of Economics, Economic Laboratory for Transition Research (ELIT), vol. 11(1), pages 69-84.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bad Product; Capabilities; Low Product Trap; Middle Product Trap; Proximity; Sophistication; Structural Transformation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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