IMO I don't think its as simple as just building infrastructure, even though that's a significant part of it. One of the best things about Western society is that there is a certain amount of trust among the people, even strangers that seems to be very important to get things done. i.e. if I pay a contractor to fix my house, its very likely they will (if the problem is well known etc.). Even if the trust is misplaced, there is a good judicial system to resort to in egregious cases which keeps (most) bad behaviors/people in check. Cooperation among strangers is essential to the advancement of any society.

In most non-Western countries, this level of trust or belief/existence of the judicial system is absent. Which increases the risk exponentially of investing, working etc.

Now of course, you do need a good education system to provide lawyers/judges and people of every skill level to man these institutions and keep them from corruption. So it does seem like a somewhat cyclical problem.