Small countries can get lots of mileage out of jurisdictional arbitrage. If Liechtenstein weren't surrounded by big countries with unfavorable corporate tax and regulatory regimes, I doubt they'd rank so high in GDP per capita.



Undisciplined

> Landlocked places are much poorer than those with ocean access

Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked country and they have the second highest GDP per person in the world.

nullama

earth

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brandonsbytes

Geography is destiny (to a large degree at least).

Landlocked places are much poorer than those with ocean access, for instance. Being between places rather than out of the way is important. Natural defenses or defensible positions reduce costs of invasion.

There are lots of things that can be naturally provided that are costly for people who don't get them for free. Those costs are a relative drag on their economies and persistently reduce the standard of living.