Not so, according to a new report by the World Bank. At current growth rates, it will take India three-quarters of a century to reach a quarter of America’s income per person. That is one calculation in the “World Development Report”, released on August 1st, in which the bank’s researchers run the numbers for 108 middle-income economies, accounting for 40% of the world’s GDP and 75% of its population. Indermit Gill, the bank’s chief economist, Somik Lall, one of his advisers, and co-authors argue that the fad for industrial policy, especially as practised in India and Indonesia, is unlikely to deliver the riches of which politicians are now dreaming.