DEPENDENCY

THEORY
Reporter: Martinez, Dominic M. 
Definition of terms: 
• Dependency -  a country that is supported and governed by
another country. 

• Dominate State – are the advanced industrial nations in the

Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

• Dependent State – countries or states with low per capita GNP and
which rely to the support of the advanced countries. 

• Value Added – a usable product always cost more than the primary
products used to create those products 
Topic Outline 
1 2 3

Dependency
Theory Central
 Structural Context
Propositions of
of Dependency
Dependency
Theory
Theory
Dependency Theory
■ Developed in the late 1950's under the guidance of the
director of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Latin America, Raul Prebish.
■ Capitalist view of the theory "The dependent states
supply cheap minerals, agricultural commodities and
cheap labor to the core states. 
■ Was viewed as a possible way of explaining
the persistent poverty of the poorer countries. 
THREE COMMON FEATURES

of DEPENDENCY THEORY 
Common Features of Dependency Theory
■ First, dependency characterizes the international system as
comprised of two sets of states, variously described as
dominant/dependent, center/periphery or metropolitan/satellite. 

■ Second, both definitions have in common the assumption that

external forces are of singular importance to the economic activities
within the dependent states. 

■ Third, the definitions of dependency all indicate that the relations

between dominant and dependent states are dynamic because the
interactions between the two sets of states tend to not only reinforce
but also intensify the unequal patterns.
 CENTRAL
PROPOSITIONS
of DEPENDENCY THEORY
Central Propositions 
■ Underdevelopment is a condition fundamentally
different from undevelopment. 
Underdevelopment - refers to a situation in which resources are being
actively used, but used in a way which benefits dominant states and
not the poorer states in which the resources are found.

■ The distinction between underdevelopment and

undevelopment places the poorer countries of the
world is a profoundly different historical context. 
Central Propositions 
■ Dependency theory suggests that alternative uses of
resources are preferable to the resource usage
patterns imposed by dominant states.
■ The diversion of resources over time is maintained
not only by the power of dominant states, but also
through the power of elites in the dependent states.
THANK YOU
REFERENCES
• https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d715/82f1a87a914036b3af3696b2be5e8411a7c
8.pdf
 
• https://academicjournals.org/article/article1381858116_Matunhu.pdf 
• https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/depend.htm 
• https://www.myaccountingcourse.com/accounting-dictionary/dependency-theo
ry
 
• https://www.academia.edu/9031529/Dependency_Theory_in_International_Rela
tions
 
• Reyes. G. E. (2001). Four Main Theories of Development: Modernization,
Dependency, World-system, and Globalization