This book discusses possibilities for, and obstacles to, economic development in lower income countries in Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It examines how lower income countries might 'catch up' and advantages and disadvantages of the lateness of poor countries in the development process. The book, written by experts on the subject, will be of great interest to researchers of development economics and to economic historians; there are even chapters that can be of interest to a less specialized public, because they treat these topics in a rigorous but clear and simple way.