The origins of world inequality sparked many theories and debates.

In the
chapter 2 of Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson (2012), three popular theories
regarding the problem above were discussed: geographical, cultural, and ignorance
hypothesis. Geographical hypothesis explained that most of the rich countries today
were located in temperate areas while the poor countries are located in the tropics. The
geographical advantages in agriculture of a country greatly contributes to the success of
a country. Cultural hypothesis, on the other hand, explained that the culture of a
country, specifically their work ethic culture, highly affects the work force of the
country. Lastly, the ignorance hypothesis blames the ignorance and wrong decisions of
political leaders for the poor economic performance of a country.

The lists of the richest countries have almost been the same for over a century.
The same names of countries are always included in the list, just interchanging places.
For many decades, the United States of America dominated the world when it comes to
the average values of Gross Domestic Product. They were followed by the same
countries: China, Japan, South Korea, Luxemburg, and other countries
(FocusEconomics, 2021). One thing that they have in common is that most of them are
colonizers in the past. In the case of Japan and Singapore, they have been colonized but
they became successful even after their independence. Those who were able to secure
their positions before the industrialization period were the ones who were able to
maintain their positions up until today. Those who failed to do so, have difficulties in
improving the status of their economies. Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe have difficulties in rising their ranks
for countries with most GDP per capita. They always end up in the list of poorest
countries (FocusEconomics, 2021). There are many factors to consider on why world
inequality exists. The theories stated in the book might not be entirely true but it still
can be considered in determining the true cause of world inequality.

The standing of every country today laid its foundation after the world wars, but
it could be said that it goes further than that. European countries are ones who sits on
top of the world rankings. One of the things which determine the wealth of a country is
trade, and Europe’s silk road proved their dedication to trade. Next to China and
United States, European countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and
Belgium rakes up the spots of the top exporting countries (Statista, 2021). In the trade
industry, the trade route that gives access to numerous places and the geography of
Europe gives that advantage. They have access to Asian and African countries which
gave them more trading partners. Their geographical factors that affect their
agriculture also played a great role in trade. Temperate climates have better agricultural
production than tropical ones (Kougioumoutzi, 2019).

Geographical hypothesis might contribute something but it is not the sole reason
for world inequality. Japan and Singapore sit on top of the richest countries even
though they have geographical disadvantages. This fact indicates that despite being in a
historical or geographical disadvantage, with proper economic leadership and wise
economic decision-making skills, any country can also have the spot at the top.

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34,238,662,960,423,935,128,611,321,243,248,469,253,642,643,939,734,644,819,172,132

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78,436,136,343,158,439,916,664,826,542,967,443,917,544,941,446,666,668,672,946,137

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58,138,196,278,692,694,962,142,449,564,565,283,853,288,293,566,964,182,359,453,968

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62,364,732,366,144,146,463,528,923,738,578,537,742,866,369,744,186,925,869,746,926

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