The Great Divergence is a term used to describe the gap in economic and political development between the west and the east. It emerges from this idea that in the 17th and the 18th centuries, the advantages that western Europe enjoyed due to industrialisation allowed them to project political power elsewhere. This in turn helped them to reap economic rewards. One of the most relevant findings that emerged from this scholarship is the idea that institutions established during colonialism can have persistent effects many years after countries transitioned to sovereign rule.