[...] social capital is the indispensable factor. Successful countries have good institutions, such as strong and stable governments committed to protecting personal property rights. Social capital supports the evolution and development of growth-boosting institutions, which in turns support the continued accumulation of social capital.

[...] healthy democracies and market economies cannot be imposed on sociteies that lack the underlying supportive social capital; they are emergent phenomena in countries with the right sort of social capital.

And so, historically, rich countries tend to stay rich while poor countries tend to stay poor. [...]

[...] development of the right sort of social capital is hard. Sadly, social scientists lack a satisfying explanation for how it occurs.