By contrast, developing countries, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa, have the potential to expand their industrial sectors rapidly, because they can borrow technology from the advanced countries with little risk and at low cost. So developing countries’ backwardness in terms of technology and industry means that they can grow for decades at an annual rate several times that of high-income countries before they close the income gap.
在发达国家，研发费用相当高，因为它们的技术和产业都位居前沿。相比之下，包括撒哈拉沙漠以南非洲国家在内的发展中国家具有快速扩大工业部门的潜力，因为它们能够以低成本从发达国家那里借用技术而不要冒什么风险。因此，发展中国家在技术和工业方面落后意味着，在消除收入差距之前，它们的年增长率将是高收入国家的好几倍并能够持续数十年。