Theories of Development (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth

• Various theories of development attempt to explain the different spatial variations in development

• The primary assumption behind all theories of development is that while industrialization leads to higher standards of living, it also leads to uneven development between and within countries

• Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth theorizes that a country must pass through five stages to develop economically:

  • Stage 1 is defined by traditional economic activity

    • It is characterized by reliance on a primary sector economy and shows little economic growth

  • Stage 2 is defined by the preconditions for takeoff

    • These include technology and infrastructure development, and reliance on exports

  • Stage 3 is known as takeoff

    • It is characterized by the processes of industrialization and urbanization and an increase in the secondary sector economy

  • Stage 4 is the drive to maturity

    • It is characterized by growing industrialization and a massive expansion of infrastructure and transportation capabilities

  • Stage 5 is characterized by mass consumption of high-value goods, large amounts of disposable income, and very little primary sector activity

    • The economy depends on the service sector

• Rostow’s model relies on several key assumptions:

  • First, he assumes that all countries want to and are capable of modernizing and developing economically

  • Secondly, the model was created using the experience of already industrialized countries. It assumes that currently developing countries will follow the same pattern.

  • Thirdly, the model presumes that less-developed countries must follow the stages of growth to develop economically and that economic development is a linear progression from one stage to the next

  • Lastly, it ignores that the economies of countries are interdependent and one country cannot advance or develop in isolation

Wallerstein’s World System Theory

• Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory supposes that the world comprises one economic system, and all countries are dependent on one another within that system

• World System Theory attempts to explain the relationship between core, semiperiphery, and periphery countries

• This model spatially categorizes countries according to their economic development and participation in global trade

• It also assumes that some countries will be exploited to the advantage of other countries

  • Core countries are the most developed

    • They receive cheap labor and raw materials from the periphery, and export manufactured goods

  • Countries in the semiperiphery are developing and act partially as both part of the core and the periphery

    • They are countries whose economies have advanced past the periphery, but are not yet able to function like more developed countries

    • Though they manufacture goods for export, they also provide cheap labor and raw materials to core countries 

  • Countries in the periphery are the least developed

    • They receive the manufactured goods from semiperipheral and core countries, while they provide cheap labor and raw materials

• In World Systems Theory, the wealthy countries of the core get richer, using cheaper resources and labor to produce material goods

  • Meanwhile, peripheral countries purchase these material goods back from the core at inflated prices, remaining poorer

• One limitation of Wallerstein’s model is that it freezes most countries into their current place as core, semi-periphery, and periphery and provides little opportunity for countries to advance and become part of the core 

Image: The Core-Periphery model

Dependency Theory

• Dependency Theory states that resources flow from less developed countries (LDCs) to more developed countries (MDCs)

  • As a result, MDCs get wealthier while LDCs remain poor

  • The theory argues that LDCs are dependent on MDCs for employment, infrastructure, and investment

  • This cycle of dependency remains unbroken and the economies of LDCs never fully develop

• Commodity dependence occurs when more than 60% of a country’s exports are made up of commodities

  • Commodity dependence makes a country’s economy vulnerable to price fluctuations in the global market

    • This can affect the country’s income 

• Environmental disasters and climate change can affect crops and production, which can result in a commodity-dependent country losing its income