Some things we know work; others we suspect might. But in other areas, we simply have no idea whether we are hurting or helping (or neither) the cause of growth. Often it seems that the pre-conditions for growth are laid down across decades, perhaps centuries. If so, they are hard to lose, but also hard to gain.
In many respects, government policies and private sector practices are very different in, say, the United States and Germany – and yet both are wealthy, BIS Review 8/2000  2  growing, economies. And no matter what the policy regime, the countries of West Africa, for example, are likely to be desperately poor for decades to come.