training sets, big data, network effects, a larger education pool to draw from (genetic outlier-geniuses), the rapid development in asia of world class urban city hubs over the past century, the construction cost of developing a small area versus a wide area [vertical development], the history of europe since the 15th century, the history of china and it's development since the 3rd century, the history of rapid urbanization of city states and the civilizations which emerged from them to conquer vasts amount of sparse-networked human territory, the desire of human beings to live together, the evolution of social hominids and their complex use of tools, rituals and in-group preferences.

it also helps to take geography into account, rivers, especially equatorial rivers seem to be a good predictor for millennial success of the humans who settle there. if you look at australia it is river poor, largely isolated from favorable trade winds and sits below the equatorial zone of predictive success.