But developed countries differ from developing countries in an important way. Since the Industrial Revolution, developed countries have always been on the global frontier of technologies and industries, which has required them to invest in costly and risky indigenous research and development.
事实上，由于现代经济增长的过程是一个不断的技术创新和产业升级的过程，中国依然能在未来许多年保持8%的年均GDP增长。当然，这对发达国家和发展中国家都同样有效。但发达国家与发展中国家之间存在着一个重要的区别——自工业革命以来，发达国家一直在技术和产业领域走在全球前沿，而这需要他们投资于昂贵和高风险的本地研发工作。