“In order to have economic growth, poor countries need market economies, private property rights, rule of law and democratic institutions.”

—Walter Williams, syndicated columnist

“Development must take the people not as they ought to be but as they are.”

—Claude Ake, political economist

The terms “Third World” and “developing nations”—as well as their counterparts “First World” and “developed nations”—do not appear on a map. Although Third World nations are clustered in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the differences between developed and developing nations are primarily political and economic rather than geographic. High levels of industrialization, freedom of trade and political expression, democratically elected governments, a respect for human rights and political expression, and low rates of population growth and poverty characterize First World nations. On the other hand, Third World governments...