The paper aims to provoke thought on the apparent entrapment of the poorest countries in a vicious circle of self-perpetuating backwardness. It begins with a selective review of the debate on growth failure, covering conventional and structuralist arguments and new growth theory.
Two main explanatory hypotheses are then developed, one relating to imbalance between human and natural resources, the other to failure to diversify exports. These hypotheses are subjected to a series of statistical tests, which draw attention to various anomalies, questions and issues that require further investigation.