A country can be rich in natural resources and still be poor in opportunities.

Comment “Thatcher” and we’ll send you an article that explores her ideas further. Oil, minerals, and fertile land can be valuable, but they do not automatically create prosperity. What matters enormously is the institutional environment in which people use them. When property rights are secure, contracts are enforced, and rules remain predictable, individuals have stronger incentives to save, invest, innovate, and build businesses. Entrepreneurs can take risks knowing that the rewards of their efforts will not be arbitrarily confiscated. Margaret Thatcher understood this distinction. She argued that a nation’s economic strength rests on human enterprise and the institutions that allow it to flourish, rather than its natural endowments alone. Countries with few natural resources can achieve remarkable prosperity by allowing people to develop their talents, exchange freely, and combine their productive efforts.