The years following the Second World War are those of greatest economic growth in Europe. If the countries of the Iberian Peninsula, neutral in the conflict and ruled by dictatorial regimes, enjoyed that growth and had participated in the convergence phenomenon, Ireland, also neutral but...

This paper discusses the slow and hesitant integration of two post-colonial economies into the global economy. One is Ireland, whose independence began in 1921, but which only found its place securely at the productive frontier by the 1990s, with many setbacks on the way. The other is Zimbabwe,...