Mauritius and Fiji are both former British possessions that developed similar economies and grew in much the same way for more than 100 years.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s Fiji had the stronger economy, but not now.
Mauritius last year officially became part of the high income club, with per capita income double that of Fiji.
The Australian National University Development Policy Centre's Stephen Howes has been looking at what caused the two economies to diverge and told Don Wiseman what he found.
Biggest city in Mauritius St Louis Photo: facebook
