Is economic development a false promise for developing countries?

This position holds that the promise of development misleads poorer countries: proponents argue that the terms on which they enter the world economy, the conditions attached to finance and the ecological limits of growth make convergence unlikely.

This position holds that development is a real prospect rather than a mirage: proponents argue that poorer countries have in fact raised incomes, health and schooling by industrialising and trading, and that the failures are of policies rather than of development.