Prosperity without social justice and gender equality is not possible. Geography and climate Most developing countries have unfavourable climates, suffering from heat and irregular rains. In contrast, except the US and Australia, all industrialised countries lie in a zone with moderate temperatures and with no serious threat of drought, floods, earthquakes or cyclones. Those countries inside the tropical hazard zones that are rich, are wealthy just because they happen to have valuable oil reserves. Heat directly affects the biological processes that determine the fertility of soil, but also the productivity of people and the preponderance of diseases and bugs.
Stable climates allow for agricultural surpluses.
Human Rights and good governance Governments in many developing countries have no respect for the basic Human Rights of their population. As long as ordinary people cannot have faith in the police and justice system of their own country, inequality for the law will remain. The economic and military competition in post-Middle Ages Western Europe promoted an upward spiral of technological innovations that resulted in greater production and greater security. Also, it led to a culture where progress and technical solutions were encouraged. In contrast, the culture and economy in many developing countries encouraged harmony and continuation, not innovation.