December 19, 2005
How Do We Measure the Wealth of Nations?
Here's one way. The World Bank's approach underscores something that has been on my mind for years: the fact that producing wealth often hinges less on "natural resources" than it does on what Thomas Sowell calls "cultural capital." The obvious example is Israel, whose natural resources are nearly identical to those of the surrounding Middle Eastern states (or inferior to them, if one takes into account the oil reserves in the area). Yet the Israelis have built a strong economy out of little more than education, salt water, and . . . sand.
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Posted by: Attila Girl at
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Excellent piece, thanks. A pox on Jared Diamond!
Posted by: beautifulatrocities at December 19, 2005 07:56 AM (gdWEQ)
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Egads--did you manage to get through that tome? It was so poorly written, and just went on forever and ever . . . I loaned it to someone to get rid of it.
Posted by: Attila Girl at December 19, 2005 08:51 AM (zZMVu)
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Another interesting example is Japan, which has little in the way of natural resources.
I do think that American natural resources are likely to become more important again in the future, as demand from developing nations accelerates. I'm thinking specifically agriculture and coal. Of course, intangible resources are important here too; there's a lot of knowledge (and cultural attributes) that go with being a successful farmer or coal miner.
Posted by: David Foster at December 19, 2005 09:30 AM (7TmYw)
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