THEORIES

OF
DEVELOPMENT
Development refers to the improvement of a nation with
economic growth, achieved industrialization, and high living
standards for the population. This idea of development is
typically based on western ideals and westernization.

Underdevelopment occurs when a country fails to fully

utilize its socio-economic resources, leading to slower
development compared to neighbouring countries that
effectively leverage their capital and technology.
Development theories help to explain why countries may have
these different levels of development and how a country could
develop further. There are numerous different development
theories out there, such as modernisation theory, dependency
theory, world-systems theory, and globalization.
 Modernisation Theory: The Rostow Model
The Rostow Model, Rostow's 5 Stages of Economic Growth, or Rostow's
Model of Economic Development, is a modernisation theory model
depicting how countries move from an underdeveloped society to one that
is more developed and modern.

Modernisation Theory appeared in the middle of the 20th century as a

theory to improve economic development in underdeveloped countries.

Modernisation theory casts development as a uniform evolutionary

route that all societies follow, from agricultural, rural, and traditional
societies to postindustrial, urban, and modern forms.
 Modernisation Theory: The Rostow Model
According to Rostow, for a country to become fully developed, it must follow
5 particular stages. As time progresses, a country will go through each stage
of economic growth and eventually reach the final stage as a fully developed
nation. The 5 stages of economic growth are:

Stage 1: Traditional Society

Stage 2: Preconditions for Take-off
Stage 3: Take-off
Stage 4: Drive to Maturity
Stage 5: Age of high mass consumption
Modernisation Theory: The Rostow Model
Modernisation Theory: The Rostow Model
Modernisation Theory: The Rostow Model
 Dependency Theory

The political and economic relationships between countries and

regions of the world control and limit the economic development
possibilities of poorer areas.
 Economic structures make poorer countries dependent on
wealthier countries.
 Colonialism initiated dependency
 Little hope for economic prosperity in poorer countries.
 Neo-colonialism
 Dependency Theory
The world economy has a set of structural
 Colonialism caused colonies
circumstances that impede the
development possibilities for poor to become dependent on
countries: the colonial powers
 Wealth is concentrated in certain areas  This enabled the colonial
 Relationships among places are unequal powers to become wealthy
at the expense of the
 LDCs are too dependent on trade with
colonized
MDCs
 Resources exploited and
 These structural conditions are difficult
depleted
to change
 Dependency persists even
after independence
 Dependency Theory: Andre Gunder Frank
 Frank’s main argument was that in our interconnected, globalised world,
some countries are winners, whilst others are losers.

 According to dependency theory, the people of less-developed countries are

not to blame for the failure of their societies to develop. Instead, he suggested
that Western nations deliberately failed to develop these countries.

 He argued that historically, ‘core’ nations such as the USA and UK, who
made up the elite ‘metropolis’, exploited ‘peripheral’ nations by keeping
them as satellites in a state of dependency and under-development
 Dependency Theory: Andre Gunder Frank
 Developed nations become wealthy by exploiting the poorest nations and
using them as a source of cheap raw materials and labour.

 He claimed that this exploitative relationship was evident throughout the

course of history (e.g. in the practice of slavery and in Western colonization
of other parts of the world) and was maintained into the twentieth century
through Western countries’ domination of international trade, the emergence
of large multinational companies and the reliance of less-developed countries
on Western aid.
Dependency Theory: Andre Gunder Frank
 Dependency Theory: Samir Amin

 Amin in his texts Accumulation on a World Scale (1974) and Unequal

Development (1976) hypothesize that 2 types of societies exist in the world
today:

 Auto centric Centre Economy (1st World Western Societies)

 Dependent Peripheral Economy (3rd World Countries)
 Dependency Theory: Samir Amin
 Amin’s work is very relevant in understanding global inequalities and
capitalist structures today.

 According to him, underdevelopment is not a lack of development. It is

the reverse side of the development of the rich countries. The rich
countries depend on the active exploitation of other countries, which
renders the latter ‘underdeveloped’.

 In works such as 'Accumulation on a World Scale and Maldevelopment'

(1974), Amin argues against neo-classical economics from a class
perspective. In common with other dependency theorists, he argues that
the global economy systematically favours the continued enrichment of
rich countries at the expense of poor countries.
 Dependency Theory: Samir Amin
 The world is divided between rich ‘centre’ countries and poor
‘peripheral’ countries. Centre countries are less structurally dependent
than peripheral countries, and tend to produce mainly capital goods
and consumer goods. Accumulation in centre countries is cumulative
over time, whereas accumulation in peripheral countries is stagnant.

 According to Amin, the poor are not simply lacking, they are actively
impoverished by processes which are constantly reproduced, and which
are getting worse. Hence, he refers not to poverty but to
‘pauperization’. He argues that the global popular classes are
increasingly being pauperized through resource grabs and surplus
extraction.
 Dependency Theory: Samir Amin

 Unequal exchange is the main means whereby capitalism reproduces

inequalities. The rich countries create an international division of
labour in which they subordinate and exploit other countries (Originally,
they did this directly, by colonial conquest).

 Monopoly systems lead to ‘super-profits’, above the level which can be

made in competitive markets. This means the beneficiaries of
imperialism can’t be out-competed in world markets. The global
rankings are locked in place, despite ‘free’ market processes.
 Dependency Theory: Samir Amin

 Development in poor countries in this context tends to be a

‘development of underdevelopment’. They undergo economic growth,
but in ways which do not contribute to long-term development. Their
surpluses are expropriated by rich countries, rather than used locally.

 Today, major means of surplus-extraction include structural adjustment

and debt repayment.
 World System Theory: Immanuel Wallerstein
 World Systems Theory posits that there is a world economic system in
which some countries benefit while others are exploited.

 Immanuel Wallerstein developed World Systems Theory and its three-

level hierarchy: core, periphery, and semi-periphery.
 Core countries are dominant capitalist countries that exploit
peripheral countries for labor and raw materials.
 Peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital
and have underdeveloped industry.
 Semi-peripheral countries share characteristics of both core and
peripheral countries.
World System Theory: Immanuel Wallerstein
 World System Theory: Immanuel Wallerstein
 A number of countries forged ahead creating a core region with the
result of the world being peripheral. Then a semi-peripheral area
developed to bridge the gap between the two. The periphery became
specialist in the primary sector while the core became specialist in the
higher value secondary and tertiary sectors.

 World System theory doesn't state that countries become stuck in the
periphery like dependency theory, but can develop and therefore
reduce disparities. NICs and the BRICS countries are good example of
semi-peripherial countries fast reducing the disparities between the
have and the have nots.
 What is Convergence Theory?
 Convergence theory presumes that as nations move from the early
stages of industrialization toward becoming fully industrialized, they
begin to resemble other industrialized societies in terms of societal
norms and technology.

 The characteristics of these nations effectively converge. Ultimately,

this could lead to a unified global culture if nothing impeded the
process.

 Convergence theory has its roots in the functionalist perspective of

economics which assumes that societies have certain requirements
that must be met if they are to survive and operate effectively.
 What is Convergence Theory?
 Convergence theory became popular in the 1960s when it was
formulated by the University of California, Berkeley Professor of
Economics Clark Kerr.

 Convergence theory in economics defines the relations between two or

more economies. In economics, the theory is also known as the catch-
up effect and it primarily speaks to the relation between less developed
countries and developed countries. It fundamentally states that less
developed countries will grow quicker than developed countries. This
development is mainly attributed to the advanced technologies,
production, and establishments of developed countries.
 What is Convergence Theory?
 In light of how developing countries lag behind developed countries, they can
simply replicate the technologies, methods, and establishments of developed
countries. Replications like these could include using the production technology
of developed nations and also implementing their advanced service institutions.

 On the sociology side of the convergence theory, it describes the situation

where highly industrialized nations begin to share cultural traits that develop on
a large scale to ultimately form a common, global culture.

 The economic aspect of the theory thus precedes the sociology part in that the
sociology part looks at nations after the developing ones have caught up with
the developed ones (when countries are on the same level). The process of how
a shared culture emerges is largely found in technological advancement.
 What is Convergence Theory?
 Convergence theory is also sometimes referred to as the "catch-up
effect.“

 To experience this rapid growth, the economies of developing countries

must to be able to attract inexpensive capital to invest in new
businesses and to improve traditionally low productivity. They need
access to new, international markets for buying the goods. If these
characteristics are not in place, then their economies cannot catch up.
This is why the economies of some countries are diverging rather than
converging (Abramovitz 1986).
 What is Convergence Theory?
 Another key characteristic of economic growth regards the
implementation of technology. A developing country can bypass some
steps of implementing technology that other nations faced earlier.
Television and telephone systems are a good example. While
developed countries spent significant time and money establishing
elaborate system infrastructures based on metal wires or fiber-optic
cables, developing countries today can go directly to cell phone and
satellite transmission with much less investment.

 Convergence theory is a helpful tool for understanding the effects that

increased global interconnectedness can have on societies and
cultures worldwide.
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis
Industrialization by invitation:
Sir Arthur Lewis