Dependency Theory

Bibliographic Data

ID23645694
AuthorsWilliam G Moseley (0000-0003-0662-962X, Macalester College, corresponding author)
Year2017
Pages1-5
Publication date2017-03-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueInternational Encyclopedia of Geography (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg1086
OpenAlexW4241821139
ISBN9781118786352
LanguageEN
References cited11

In contrast to the relatively uniform set of development stages suggested by modernization theory, dependency theory stressed the unequal relationships between countries that had been constructed from the colonial period to the present. Dependency theorists argued that economies in the tropics were “underdeveloped” during the colonial era as European countries refashioned these economies for their own benefit. Through a combination of taxation policies and forced coercion, tropical countries came to produce primary commodities which were traded for manufactured goods from Europe in a global system of unequal exchange. In terms of policy implications, dependency theory gave rise to programs of import substitution and some nationalizations of foreign‐owned industries. Dependency theory has been criticized from at least two distinct angles. Neoliberal economists slammed import substitution policies for leading to inefficiency and stifling economic growth. In contrast, poststructuralists essentially saw dependency theory as overly defeatist, insufficiently acknowledging of the role of individual agency, as well as discursive power.

Agency (philosophy) · Coercion (linguistics) · Colonialism · Dependency (UML) · Dependency theory (database theory) · Development economics · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Inefficiency · Market economy · Modernization theory · Neoclassical economics · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Structure and agency · Economic Theory and Policy · International Development and Aid · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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