Instead, much of the difference seems to be that the poor nations (many of which are democracies) are those that more often adopted dumb policies, policies whic

Instead, much of the difference seems to be that the poor nations (many of which are democracies) are those that more often adopted dumb policies, policies which hurt most everyone in the nation. This is taken as obvious, but I don't find it so. There are many things that are not attributable to tangible national assets, but that can nonetheless change its course: things such as historical accident of where a particular thing was invented, actions of other nations, natural disasters, etc. I see every reason to think that this sort of thing is responsible for wealth disparity, moreso than repeated adoption of "dumb" policies.