Online ISSN 2286-0266
Print ISSN 1223-0685
© 2025 Œconomica by ASE & SOREC
 
Delia-Raluca ŞANCARIUC
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
Dragoş Cosmin Lucian PREDA
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
The richest country in the world is, currently, 150 times richer than the poorest one. While a European citizen spends an average of €40 to €70 per day for food, half of the global population lives on less than $7 a day per capita. In Europe and the US, people go to school, on average, for almost twice as many years as people in African countries. Progress over the past centuries has been strongly uneven among world’s nations, and while some countries have seen great improvements on economic and social dimensions, others have remained stuck in poverty. The present paper seeks, in its first section, to provide a detailed overview of the development and wealth distribution across the world. In its second section, it aims to outline and critically discuss the various determinants of economic development highlighted in the literature, emphasizing why the institutionalist perspective offers the most consistent and convincing alternative explanation.

ŒCONOMICA no. 2/2023
Keywords: development, economic growth, poverty, standard of living, institutions
JEL: O43, O47, O57, P47
An Inquiry into Development: The Big Picture and Possible Explanations