Curious patterns in the data suggest manipulation as the cause. Mr Martinez found that the mismatch between satellite and gdp data did not appear in dictatorships until they were too rich to receive some types of aid: only showing up when governments would not forfeit money. The irregularities were most prevalent in the parts of gdp figures that are easiest to manipulate such as investment and government spending, and was bigger when these countries’ growth was low compared with others’. And as countries moved towards or away from dictatorship, their numbers grew more or less suspicious.