What are the reasons preventing most underdeveloped countries from growing and developing?

Answer 1

It's a mixture of things Many countries such as Nigeria remain underdeveloped due to unstable politics, poor infrastructure, unvaried economy, and very strong cleavages. Unstable politics such as revolution can cause money to be spent on war instead of developing things like roads. In Russia and Nigeria their economy depends heavily on oil prices for income and therefore haven't developed a more diverse economy. I hope this helped :)

Answer 2

There are several factors which impede development of third world countries. Historically many of these countries were former European colonies and were systematically exploited for natural and Human Resources. This siphoning off of resources limited their capacity for production and development. More recently these countries have also had to face limited access to capital. Funding needed for investment is simply not available to either the state or private enterprise at competitive rates in the third world. Limited human and financial capital affects the nations’ ability to attract foreign direct investment. Foreign companies either do not want to come or only do so with substantial concessions. In this way the prospects for development are constricted.