Why do countries have a low GDP?

GDP is partially a measure of cumulative problem solving within the economic domain (of scarce, non public goods and services). But the secret of success is cooperation. Humans succeed by forming huge networks of specialization and exchange. read more

Countries with a low GDP are usually third world countries that have a very weak economy and do not have a well-developed economic and productive infrastructure, are countries that import more goods than they export. In this way the GDP is very low, these countries are mainly pises of the African continent and latin america. read more

Developed country = Low birth rate. Low birth rate = Bad for GDP growth. Obviously it’s automatically easier to develop, feed, and educate the population with fewer people than with more people so basically any country with a low birth rate should become “developed” after a few decades. read more

This is “Four Reasons Why GDP Varies across Countries”, section 21.2 from the book Theory and Applications of Economics (v. 1.0). For details on it (including licensing), click here. read more