I doubt very much that catching up is easier to do. If it was so easy we wouldn't see huge differences between different countries.

There are a lot of self reenforcing factors that keep countries back for a long time. Bad governance, corruption, violence, bad investment decisions, inefficient legal systems, debt, terrible infrastructure, bad health and education, smart people leaving the country, etc. It all feeds on itself and its very difficult for a country to escape that spiral.