>>46402606Lots of land and resources
Agricultural self-sufficiency
Ready access to oceans for international trade
Political stability
Robust bureaucracy that stewards while not impeding financial growth
Social and cultural incentives for innovation.
A robust public education system
Some historical luck.
Most mid-sized economies are mid-sized on purpose, because their historical ruling class were unwilling to concede enough power to the markets to allow for the kind of growth the US sees and they're just happy where they are. And alternatively many of the more progressive ones are simply cautious about economic growth because they learned hard lessons from the dreaded Dutch Disease. Most developing economies lack several of these criteria either due to historical factors (impacts of colonialism, or borders drawn by unfair treaties hundreds of years ago) or just unfortunate geopolitical realities (instability due to hostile neighbours, few natural resources, lack of arable land for agriculture etc.)
Most of the world's wealthiest economies are service-based. They deal primarily in selling services like financial or business management. But things like resources and production are still necessary because dependence on imported goods can lead to disparities in bargaining power that can undermine a country's market value and bidding power. Hence why the US emphasizes its domestic oil production so heavily despite being able to buy cheaper oil internationally.
