How Persuasive Is Dependency Analysis in Explaining the Constraints and Opportunities Faced by Developing Countries in the International Political Economy?
How persuasive is dependency analysis in explaining the constraints and opportunities faced by developing countries in the international political economy?
In the late 1950s, dependency theory was proposed by Raul Prebisch, the director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (Cardoso & Faletto, 1979). Dependency theory mainly focuses on the interaction between the developing and developed countries and was considered as a big challenge to the free market economic policies at that time (Davis & Cobb, 2009). The theory was incredibly popular as many developing countries were close to the verge of economic collapse caused by the free market policies of development theory during 1950s to 1970s; meanwhile, the dependency theory was also considered as a major criticism directly questioning modernization theory (Caporaso, 1980).
During that period, various scholars presented further analyses of Prebisch’s dependency theory, for example, the Germany economist Frank developed dependency theory to become a part of Marxism-based “new dependency theory” considering the domestic and foreign relations of developing countries and Wallerstein developed further the Marxist thoughts in this theory to make it one of the world system theories (Caporaso, 1980). However, the incapability of dependency theory to explain the rising success of countries such as India and China in recent decades have made its persuasiveness questionable, and many critics today no longer perceive dependency theory as the up-to-date stream of thoughts.(Ferraro, 2008). In this essay I attempt to explain the declining persuasiveness of dependency theory under the context of contemporary global economy through three stages; by presenting a brief history of the development of dependency theory first, I would then assess the definitive and methodical deficiencies of the theory, and explain how such incoherence has eventually made the dependency analysis no longer a persuasive tool to
In the late 1950s, dependency theory was proposed by Raul Prebisch, the director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (Cardoso & Faletto, 1979). Dependency theory mainly focuses on the interaction between the developing and developed countries and was considered as a big challenge to the free market economic policies at that time (Davis & Cobb, 2009). The theory was incredibly popular as many developing countries were close to the verge of economic collapse caused by the free market policies of development theory during 1950s to 1970s; meanwhile, the dependency theory was also considered as a major criticism directly questioning modernization theory (Caporaso, 1980).
During that period, various scholars presented further analyses of Prebisch’s dependency theory, for example, the Germany economist Frank developed dependency theory to become a part of Marxism-based “new dependency theory” considering the domestic and foreign relations of developing countries and Wallerstein developed further the Marxist thoughts in this theory to make it one of the world system theories (Caporaso, 1980). However, the incapability of dependency theory to explain the rising success of countries such as India and China in recent decades have made its persuasiveness questionable, and many critics today no longer perceive dependency theory as the up-to-date stream of thoughts.(Ferraro, 2008). In this essay I attempt to explain the declining persuasiveness of dependency theory under the context of contemporary global economy through three stages; by presenting a brief history of the development of dependency theory first, I would then assess the definitive and methodical deficiencies of the theory, and explain how such incoherence has eventually made the dependency analysis no longer a persuasive tool to
References: Cardoso, F. H. & Faletto, E. (1979) Dependency and Development in Latin America. Berkeley: University of California Press. Caporaso, J.A. (1980). Dependency Theory: Continuities and Discontinuities in Development Studies. International Organization, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp605-628. Davis, G.F. & Cobb, J.A. (2009). Resource Dependency Theory: Past and Future. Research in the Sociology of Organizations. pp1-31. Dunn, C.C. (2005). Dependency and World System theories. Viewed 17 November 2012, (http://www.sociologyencyclopedia.com/fragr_image/media/dependency). Ferraro, V. (2008). Dependency Theory: An Introduction. The Development Economics Reader. London: Routledge. ATES, H., ES, M. & BAYRAKTAK, Y. (2005). Dependency Theory: Still an Appropriate Tool for Understanding the Political Economic of the Middle East? İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 19, p247-262 Keet, M. (2002). Neo-Marxist Dependency Theories. Viewed 16 November 2012, (http://www.meteck.org/dependency.html)