Some aspects of liberation theology and world systems theory are related to dependency theory. Dependency can be defined as an explanation of the economic development of a state in terms of the external influencespolitical, economic, and culturalon. Andre gunder frank 1971 argues that developing nations have failed to develop not because of internal barriers to development as modernization theorists argue, but because the developed west has systematically underdeveloped. The discourse pins hope on the african renaissance theory of development. Dependency theory economic development economics online. Some of the reasons elaborated for this development of underdevelopment were. Professor deepak lal is a pioneer in the field of development economics. Dependency theory, sometimes called foreign dependency, is used to explain the failure of nonindustrialized countries to develop economically despite investments made into them from industrialized nations.
Article information, pdf download for dependency theory. Dependency theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Dependency theory, argues that the imf and the world bank policies and programs have indeed been heavily criticized for many years and have been seen as unhelpful and sometimes difficult to account, as they have led to increased dependency by developing countries upon wealthier nations. Dependency theory developed in the late 1950s under the guidance of the director of the united nations economic commission for latin america, raul prebisch. The structuralist approach looks at development in terms of the power relationship between different nations and between different people within. Development theory is a collection of theories about how desirable change in society is best achieved. The main weakness of dependency theory lies in explaining the origin of underdevelopment. Dependency theory is a popular theory within the social sciences to explain economic. Seeing the state of development or underdevelopment in latin america 1 and africa 2, i argue that dependency is created by a dominant country on these so called underdeveloped countries by creating a. However, nobody can deny that dependency theory opened up a new perspective on the realities of international political economy. On the other hand, they should be based on problem analyses and offer opportunities for development strategies. This post is a brief summary of the dependency theory view of development and underdevelopment.
The focus of this theory is the totality of society and social system periphery, which highlights the. Theotonio dos santos, one of the founders of dependency theory, describes dependence as a situation in which the economy of certain countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy to which the former is subjected dos santos 1970, p. Development is usually seen as crucially determined by structures of governance. Dependency theory with its three main strains, classical dependency, dependent development, and mature dependency and the more encompassing world systems theory both stress the important role of external and foreign factors in the development of underdevelopment bradshaw, 1987, 1988. Consequently, the modernization, dependency and multiplicity paradigms were emerged having different approaches to. Dependency theory has also been associated with johan galtung s structural theory of imperialism. Dependency theory developed in the 1960s to explain the problems of development in the third world. Thus, the dependency school advocated that the third world countries should sever their. The theory developed during the late 1950s and over the following two. Dependency theory is a popular theory within the social sciences to explain economic development of states. This article uses timeseries analysis to examine dependent development patterns in south korea, a country that has realized dramatic economic growth over the last several decades. The main objective of this document is to synthesize the main aspects of the four major theories of development.
Dependency theory, an approach to understanding economic underdevelopment that emphasizes the putative constraints imposed by the global political and economic order. Dependency theorists sought to explain persistent levels of under development in latin america by situating national economies within their global economic context. Dependency theory today 72 miguel angel centeno 10. At the start, growth under capitalism, generation of value and accumulation of. Dependency theory is the notion that resources flow from a periphery of poor and underdeveloped states to a core of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former. Conversations on dependency theory institute for new economic. These are the principal theoretical explanations to interpret development efforts carried out especially in the developing.
Dependency theorydependency theory became popular in the 1960s as a response to research by raul prebisch. In these days of increasing globalization, which appears as an unstoppable and relentless process, structuralist. Dependency theory also posits that the degree of dependency increases as time goes on. Dependency theory and chinese special economic zones in africa 93 honita. The relation of inter dependence between two or more.
In its extreme form, dependency theory is based on a marxist view of the world, which sees globalisation in. The dependency theory begins with a study of the colonial impact on the indigenous socio economic and political structures, then seeks to analyze the characteristics of the new socio economic structure, and finally seeks to trace its evolution in relations to both the internal changes and developments in the world capitalist system. The discourse assesses the influence of modernization and dependency theories on africas development. Some of the eurocentric biases are inherited in these theories of dependency school. This theory gained credibility in explaining ghanas development after 1981. Latin american dependency theory global south studies, u. The neocolonial dependence model assumes unequal relationship between the center developed countries and the periphery ldcs. Dependent development is a central concept of dependency. Vincent ferraro, mount holyoke college south hadley, ma july 1996. The relevance of dependent development then and now. Critics of dependency theory social science theories. Development rostows of development and ist relevance in.
In dependency theory, the developed nations actively keep developing nations in a subservient position, often through economic force by instituting sanctions, or by proscribing free trade policies. Dependency theory is premised on the fact that resources move and. In other words, the relation between underdevelopment and dependency is explained in a circular manner. Dependency theory looks at the world system which has been created through such globalization and studies the unequal relationships within this world system causing the development and underdevelopment because dependency theory does show that the world system has a by product of development but is it developing. While dependency theory as a conscious, explicit approach to development. Dependency relates to a situation in which the economy of certain countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of the other to which the former is subjected santos 1979, p, 22. The dependency and worldsystems perspectives on development were very influential among radical development theorists from the late. The effects of international economic dependence on development and inequality. The name and concept of development is a bone of contention for many scholars on the globe, mainly following the second world war.
Most development theory equates development with national economic growth and sees the state as its primary agent. The political economy of africa and dependency theory. It combines elements from a neomarxist theory and adopts a revolution of under developed nations model. Prebisch and his colleagues were troubled by the fact that economic growth in the advanced industrialized countries did not necessarily lead to growth in the poorer countries. By the decade of seventies of the 20th century, the theory of the stages of economic growth became redundant and the structural internationalist theory became prominent. A comparative analysis it matters little how much information we possess about development if we have not grasped its inner meaning. Ahiakpor examines the theory, and points out its failure, not only in ghana, but elsewhere. Dependency and worldsystems perspectives on development. Such theories draw on a variety of social science disciplines and approaches.
Frank identities three main types of neocolonialism. It is a central dependenfy of dependency theory that poor states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way poor states are integrated into the world system. The central argument of this theory is that the world economic system is highly unequal in its distribution of power and resources due to. Dependency theory is concerned with how developing countries are dependent on developed countries. Latin american radical political economy in retrospect pdf. This theory was officially developed in the late 1960s following world war ii, as scholars searched for the root issue in the lack of development. Development theory economics and political science. Thus economic development is the process of more value generating, labour generates value. The political economy of africa and dependency theory 67 patrick bond 9. Dependency theory dependency theory has been presented as a theory of development that improves modernisation theory reyes, 2001a. Pseudointellectualism of the dependency theorist made manifest in the walter rodneys how europe. The more things change, the more they stay the same 79 ian taylor 11. At that time the assumptions of liberal theories of development were under. There is an inability to think beyond the state as the primary and essential agent of economic development.
They can only be understood in the context of the world economic and political system. Economic development in neomarxist theory springerlink. It is, broadly speaking, a marxist theory of development. Introduction dependency theory, as a theory that purports to explain the related conditions of economic development and the lack of, and evident need for it, in the countries of the periphery, or third worlda condition that some dependistas theorists of dependency refer to as underdevelopmenthas. Dependency theory is the notion that resources flow from a periphery of poor and. It is a central contention of dependency theory that poor states are impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way poor states are integrated into the world system. Dependency theory accepts certain neomarxist conceptions of the nature of development and underdevelopment, in particular the conception of the interdependence of the capitalist world economy and the proposition that development and underdevelopment are partial, interdependent aspects of one global system. Prebisch found that increases in the wealth of the richer nations appeared to be at the expense of the poorer ones. The conclusion is that both theories have failed to help develop africa. At the beginning of the 1970s, new concepts of development theory began increasingly to be articulated in english by writers inspired by the work of radical latin american scholars. This structuralist variant of the dependency theory is.
An overview development theories have to deal with two challenges. But high level of production is possible through more and more capital accumulation and technological improvement. On the one hand, development theories analyze social economic phenomena of underdevelopment and development. In marxian theory, production means the generation of value. Denis goulet, the cruel choice development must be redefined as an attack on the chief evils of the world today. It is an economic theory proposed by the developing latin american countries. Dependency theory was very much about criticizing the western development theories that hindered the underdeveloped countries by exploiting their resources and labour force, as to develop themselves more.
A critique of modernization and dependency theories in. This essay focuses on two related radical theories of development, dependency and worldsystems theory, and shows how they emerged as a critique partly of modernization theory and of the development strategy of import substitution industrialization. The central argument of dependency theory is that socio economic dependency neo colonialism generates underdevelopment. Dependency theory advocators further reject the alternative way of development proposed by modernization school theoreticians through the integration into global economic system and active participation in international trade. In this article, multiple theories are discussed, as are recent developments with regard to these theories.
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