Much knowledge is embedded in technology which is tradable. Much knowledge is available in a written form with little restriction in its availability. And, much knowledge is held by individuals who would be willing to transfer that knowledge to other economies in market transactions or even to provide it as a gift. The most important factor missing from the economies of the poor countries is the set of institutions creating economic systems with the structure of incentives and opportunities which promotes the acquisition and use of the accumulated knowledge of the world to improve levels of living. This is not to suggest that instituting an economy to create the organizations and individual incentives leading to high levels of output is easy or can be done very quickly.
Modern production requires complex and highly coordinated activity.
It takes time for investments to pay off. It does suggest that much attention be given to entitlements and the existing store of knowledge in thinking about productivity and economic development. The institutions of entitlement influence the level, composition and distribution of an economy's output. The ownership or capture of the benefits of the accumulated knowledge and the economic system is a major factor in determining both output and its distribution. Inequality in the distribution of economic output has been the common human experience.