David Wessel's column today was about how "The Demographics Driving Nations' Wealth". But he includes this great throwaway line: "Belgium is rich not because it is big or has invented a lot, but because it has the wherewithal to employ technology invented by others, notes Michael Kremer of Harvard University." That observation is also essentially a throwaway line in Kremer's 1993 paper (on the link between early population growth and technology development).
But the idea of technology absorption is an important one -- with a long history of scholarship behind it. The "fast follower" strategy has lots of supporters - including me (see earlier postings).
Let me suggest that Wessel's next column should be a follow up -- on why Belgium is rich and what are the lessons for the US. I think there is much we can learn.
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