Economic divergence in Asia

Why are some countries prospering while others are stuck in poverty for millennia?

If you board a flight after breakfast in Kathmandu, you can make it to lunch in Singapore—a sovereign nation whose citizens enjoy one of the best living standards in the world. Singaporeans’ convenient access to top-quality healthcare and educational opportunities, modern housing and sanitation facilities, advanced infrastructure, etc., reflects the quality of life they have achieved. Their living standard is almost incomparable to that of a typical citizen in other Asian countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal. Most of us may not know that Singapore was a poor tropical island just a few decades ago, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita income of a mere $428 in 1960.