Mind the Mind Gap

Over the past 60 years, some development gaps across countries have narrowed impressively. But others have persisted. And one has widened, with ominous implications for the future.

On the positive side, life expectancy in low-income countries has risen from 55% of US levels in 1960 (when it was 70 years) to over 80% now (when it is 78.5 years), while in many middle-income countries – including Chile, Costa Rica, and Lebanon – people live longer than Americans do.