Vietnam's solar boom was built on three key pillars: foreign direct investment (FDI) (mostly from China), access to subsidised Chinese inputs, and productivity spillovers from multinationals to domestic suppliers.

Stalin’s forced deportation of educated ‘enemies of the people’ inadvertently concentrated human capital in Gulag towns, fostering inter-generational prosperity and long-term development despite the destructive intent of the repression.

Natural resource discoveries trigger FDI bonanzas and employment booms through a local FDI job multiplier, but also induce political instability