Japan suffered the double whammy of deflationary policy in concert with a governmental aversion to failure that sets its economic growth back immeasurably.

FORBES: The Myth About the Myth of Japan's Two Lost Decades

But if dozens of the world's states are in some sense failed, and may well have a stake in covering up the failure of others, then help offered by yet more governments, or inter-governmental agencies, is unlikely to be a panacea.

ECONOMIST: Failed states

Failure to agree these rules can in part be attributed to the effective lobbying by non-governmental organisations.

BBC: Investment puzzle for WTO