National policies in support of productive dynamism

The widening gap in relative income levels between rich and poor countries has been a major trend in the world economy over the past 250 years. On one estimate, the difference in per capita income between the richest and the poorest country in the world was about 5:1 before the Industrial Revolution; today this difference has increased to 400:1 (Landes, 1998). While the exactitude of these numbers is debatable, there can be little doubt that the world economy has been on a long-term path of substantial and growing divergence in relative productivity levels and living standards, both between developed and developing countries and among developing countries themselves.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Partnerships for the Goals