Poor countries are often broke on purpose because the people in charge realized that blocking growth is the easiest way to stay in power.
Most people assume all governments want their citizens to get richer. This model shows that growth is actually a threat to dictators because it creates a wealthy middle class that demands rights; therefore, staying poor is a calculated survival strategy for the people at the top.
<p>The Politics of Growth</p>
SSRN · 6283018
This paper develops a model in which a small political elite finds it optimal to pursue a deliberate policy to inhibit growth as a means to retain power. Fear of losing power leads to poverty by design. Growth that leads to higher levels of wealth, in contrast, is an outcome of a ruling coalition that does not fear losing power. If the ruling coalition has broad support, democratic institutions are the means by which such a coalition ensures its hold on power. Sometimes an authoritarian regime h