ABSTRACT
If the developed countries were isolated from the developing ones, a development gap would still be recognised in the remaining developing world itself. Top performers such as Mexico, Southeast Brazil, coastal China, the Middle East oil states and Singapore would stand at or near the top. There is a strong case, therefore, for directing development assistance towards the poorer developing countries, and indeed a set of Least Developed Countries, mostly in Africa and southern Asia, has been recognised by the World Bank (see Figure 4.2).
