In 1950, Korea had the same level of per capita income as Bangladesh. If country Z has a higher level of productivity than country X, then we would expect country Z's future growth rate to be less than country X's. China's GDP is larger than Japan's. Mexico's GDP is less than Canada's. There is a positive correlation between the size of an informal economy and the cost of setting up a legal business.
Foreign investment is an important source of capital formation in developing nations.
Import-substitution policies have enabled developed countries to permanently increase their rates of growth. The Cultural Revolution was an attempt by China to institute market reforms. The industrialized countries of the world, as a whole, ran a trade deficit in 1993.