This, in turn, reinforces their poverty and keeps them trapped in the vicious circle of poverty and low productivity (chart 2.1). This weakness is due to inadequate public R&D, low private R&D spending, and weak training, extension, business and technical support systems. All types of (public and private) extension services for firms, in the form of support institutions that can be easily accessed to give advice on new technologies and on new equipment, are weak.