Abstract
The constructors of cross-sections of economic development have avoided concrete detail in order to arrive at what is "essential" or "normal" in economic reality, yet that has not enabled them to attain their objective. We shall try to reach a solution of our two main problems from the opposite direction, by going straight to the heart of the detailed facts. This may seem paradoxical at first, to try to formulate generalised problems for theoretical analysis by studying detailed facts. But we shall see where this leads us.