Nothing surprising about the position of the Dominican Republic compared to the rest of the world in its ranking in the prosperity scale. The DR is mired in the 50's not just on this index but in others as well. As usual those socialist nordic countries are in the top of the heap.
Of the 9 indexes DR is weak in 5, average in 2 and strong in 2. One of the strong indexes is "Social Capital" which is defined as "trustworthiness in relationships and strong communities". On a personal level that may be true to an extent, but on a wider level with the corruption that abounds I find that a bit hard to swallow. Read the report, in the mean time enjoy the sun and sand.
The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index
The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index Table Rankings
