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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum
GLD 374.22-0.2%Nov 21 4:00 PM EST

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To: maceng2 who wrote (45112)1/10/2009 7:26:02 PM
From: elmatador1 Recommendation  Read Replies (2) of 217927
 
Special interest groups, or distributional coalitions, hinder economic growth in industrialized nations. Special interest groups slow the pace of change in industry. We will reorganize production and adopt new technologies more slowly as more coalitions form for the purpose of transferring wealth.

Distributional coalitions are mainly a problem of wealthy nations. Paradoxically, poor nations can experience strong growth due to the fact that they have little to redistribute. Poor nations can therefore develop rapidly. The examples of postwar Japan and Germany fit Olson's thesis well. Japan and West Germany were devastated and left poor by the War, but developed rapidly afterwards. As Japan and Germany became affluent, distributional coalitions formed to retard further economic development.

Olson does not explain the stagnation of so called third world nations. Why is it that Japan and Germany were able to "take advantage" of their postwar poverty, while many other nations remain "too poor" to support extensive distributional coalitions? Distributional coalitions actually abound in poor nations. The Rise and Decline of Nations does not explain all of history, but this is definitely part of the formula. Its examples are a little dated, but there is some great stuff here.
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