Based on this analysis, Comin agrees that differences between rich and poor nations can largely be explained by the speed at which they adopted industrial technologies. But equally important, he says, is the intensity they employ in putting new technologies to work. Even when countries that were slow to adopt new technologies eventually catch up, it’s the intensity of how they use the technology—not simply the access—that creates economic opportunity. Are the technologies just sitting there or is the workforce trained to get the most productivity out of them? That’s intensity. “The question is
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