[apalmer]

Just so we are clear... what countries do you think are doing well?

because i would posit that out of the countries that are economically performing well outside of the united states almost none have: low regulatory environments, easy access to investment cash, entrepreneur culture, freedom of speech, honest elections, a real judiciary, capital protections

if we are going to say we need to focus on empirical evidence then I dont think this elements are as important as you are making them out to be...