I suspect the single biggest factor that explains the difference between the US and Equador is the flow of foreign capital. The US attracts a lot of foreign capital because of the stable government, high growth rate, stable currency, and the predictable cost of doing business.

It has been like this for so long that people in the US take it for granted. They don't realize that the party will end as soon as the world finds a better investment somewhere else.

At various times in the past 100 years Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina have all looked like promising candidates for long term growth. If fresh water becomes the new oil Brazil might become the new Saudi Arabia. That is really a different kind of wealth, though. If South America is going to make an economy like the US it can't just come from a flood of money for oil, water, or other natural resource. Sustained growth comes from human resources, not natural resources.

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