1. You can't compare the performance of middle-income/poor countries to rich ones. It's much easier to grow a poor economy 10% annually than a rich one due to

1. You can't compare the performance of middle-income/poor countries to rich ones. It's much easier to grow a poor economy 10% annually than a rich one due to labor and capital being used so inefficiently at the start. 2. The US has hardly suffered in the study time (1988 to 2008). 1.6% real gdp growth/capita per year. 3. How has Brazil done well? It's 1988 to 2008 growth is 1.3%, below that of the US. More open Mexico has done better (1.4%). 4. Chile, a middle-income country known for free trade, grew 4.2% 5. China is a bit of an anomaly with its incredible 8% year over year growth (possibly the highest in the world). It has many unique factors allowing it to drive high growth (one of which is strong institutions that historically had crippled, not helped, growth). source for numbers: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28%28brazil+real+gdp+per+capita+2008%29%2F%28brazil+real+gdp+per+capita+1988%29%29%5E%281%2F20%29 http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28%28brazil+real+gdp+p...