Why are some countries rich and others poor, and how do countries develop? Scholars have answered in very different ways. You can measure development; theories try to explain it. Learn each one and its critics; none is settled fact.
Key idea
Rostow's stages of growth (1960) say every country can climb the same five stages, from traditional society to high mass consumption. Wallerstein's world-systems theory (1974) sees one world economy with a core, a semi-periphery and a periphery, linked by trade. Dependency theory (Raúl Prebisch and others, from the 1950s) argues that poorer countries were kept poor by unequal ties to richer ones.
| Theory | Main idea | What critics say |
|---|---|---|
| Rostow (modernization) | Five stages: traditional society, preconditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, high mass consumption. Investment, trade and new technology move a country up. | Assumes one path modeled on Western countries; underplays history, colonialism and global power |
| World-systems (Wallerstein) | Core countries do high-skill, high-wage work; the periphery supplies raw materials and cheap labor; the semi-periphery has some of each. Countries can move between tiers. | Can underplay a country's own choices and institutions; tiers are hard to define |
| Dependency | Exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods keeps poorer countries dependent; ties to rich countries can hold them back. | Countries that traded heavily, such as South Korea, grew rich; some policies based on it, like high tariffs, had mixed results |
Why it works
The theories look at different scales. Rostow looks inside each country, at savings and investment. World-systems and dependency theory look at the whole world economy, at who makes what and who trades with whom. Real cases support parts of each, which is why geographers learn all three and many say countries have developed by different paths.
Worked example: Which theory is speaking?
A writer argues that a country stays poor because it exports coffee and copper and imports machinery, and the prices of its exports fall relative to its imports. Which theory?
- The argument is about unequal trade ties, not stages inside the country.
- Falling relative prices of raw-material exports were a central point for Prebisch.
Answer: Dependency theory.
Worked example: Place a stage
A country is building its first big factories and railroads, and savings and investment rise quickly. Which of Rostow's stages is this?
- Before it: preconditions (new ideas and institutions).
- This burst of investment and industry is the take-off.
Answer: Take-off (stage 3).
Common mistake
Treating one theory as fact. Each explains some cases; scholars debate them, and many point out that countries have developed by different paths. On a test, describe each theory accurately and give a strength and a criticism.