3.6 Institutions and the Interactive World
In Section 3.4, we applied market-based theories of occupational choice and persistent
inequality to the interactive world economy, (tentatively) treating each country as an
economic agent. Recall the main assumption for such an interpretation to be sensible:
that countries must face infrastructural constraints that limit full diversification. With
these constraints in place, there will be persistent inequality in the world income distribution,
with countries in “occupational niches” that correspond to their infrastructural