There is now considerable evidence that a range of institutional, legal, cultural, political and religious variables determine financial development. But economists have conjectured that the presence of diversification opportunities in the real economy can also shape the development of the...

Becoming a rich country requires the ability to produce and export commodities that embody certain characteristics. We classify 779 exported commodities according to two dimensions: (1) sophistication (measured by the income content of the products exported); and (2) connectivity to other...