This paper provides an account of the exceptional development paths of Botswana and Mauritius and how the economic literature tries to explain it. In particular, it takes an in-depth look at three policies—industrial, trade, and exchange rate policies—and how they made it possible to take advantage of various economic rents. Finally, it lays the foundations for a new analytical framework that relates the characteristics of the productive process to the economic structure of society. The mechanism sheds light both on the success of the development and on the political stability of these two African countries.