Why is the "per capita" income in parts of the world so different. I suggest the reason is the extent to which societies are dominated by rentier interests. The concentrated control over land and natural resources means that the majority of people are forced to labor at subsistence wages, competing for the work that is available with one another. The same dynamic exists in the wealthier societies but with checks on monopoly privilege under laws and policies that support some level of social democracy. Thus, the situation in the United States has been accelerating in favor of rentier interests since the late 1970s.
Why is the "per capita" income in parts of the world so different. I suggest the reason is the extent to which societies are dominated by rentier interests. The concentrated control over land and natural resources means that the majority of people are forced to labor at subsistence wages, competing for the work that is available with one another.
The same dynamic exists in the wealthier societies but with checks on monopoly privilege under laws and policies that support some level of social democracy. Thus, the situation in the United States has been accelerating in favor of rentier interests since the late 1970s.