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<p>Several people have cited the more advanced educational systems of other countries, yet the U.S. is still the richest (in terms of per capita income) large country in history. (I added the “large” qualifier because it’s not reasonable to compare a country of 300 million people to say Luxembourg). Either</p>
<p>(1) the anecdotes about the educational systems are not representative of their average results
(2) educational achievement is less important than many other factors, such as natural resources and economic freedom, in determining the standard of living </p>
<p>I think both factors are at work.</p>