Development theory

Development theory aims to explain why certain regions or countries (often called developing countries ) lag behind others in terms of economy and society. In addition, one wants to determine which are the decisive points of attack for a possible strategy of development policy in order to initiate or accelerate the desired development. Depending on whether the main causes are seen outside or inside the country, a distinction can be made between exogenous and endogenous theories.

"Endogenous" is called social change , provided that a social structure is able to generate the elements to overcome it. The classical and modern endogenous theories advocated by liberal and conservative theorists see the causes in the developing countries themselves; B. the modernization theory in archaic structures or in corruption . The classical and modern exogenous theories assume that the causes of the lower level of development are to be found outside the developing countries, more precisely: in their exploitation by the industrialized countries . They highlight the dependence of developing countries on industrialized countries; On the other hand, they see the causes apparently lying in the developing countries (such as corruption) as the consequences of this dependency.

For postcolonial writers, development is an ideological and authoritarian concept. They call for alternative concepts that avoid the need for growth , for example , that are based on traditional knowledge from the countries concerned or that preserve and enhance the traditional subsistence economy compared to market-economy-capitalist structures .

Possible endogenous causes

According to proponents of the endogenous theories, the cause of the underdevelopment lies in the affected countries themselves. The countries are at a stage of social and economic transition that the industrialized countries have already passed through. The economic structure is almost exclusively limited to the primary sector (agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and mining). Large families, clans or tribes are still the foundation of society. On the conceptual basis that the process of the development of these countries is a repetition of the development of the industrialized countries, the historical knowledge can be used in a targeted manner in order to recognize factors that inhibit development and to shorten the process.

Low savings and investment activity and institutional framework

The crucial obstacle to growth for these theories is the lack of capital. In the past, only the lack of physical capital was taken into account, but now the lack of human capital (e.g. performance, training, know-how) is also considered. Low savings and investment activity is typical of developing countries. The low savings rate is also related to the extremely low income. Investment activity is further weakened not only by a lack of saved capital but also by capital flight. Political and social instability in developing countries means that capital prefers to be invested in countries considered safer. The development economist Albert O. Hirschman observed that there is a "stagnation mentality" in developing countries and that investments are only made when the prospects for profit are very high. A country comparison showed that the political, institutional and social framework had a very large impact on long-term economic growth. In considering colonial history, there is a great deal of empirical evidence suggesting the paramount importance of robust property rights. The restriction of access by politicians and social elites to property and a credible protection against expropriation correlate with a significantly higher rate of savings and investment as well as significantly higher economic growth. It is fundamentally irrational for countries to cling to political and social institutions that slow down economic growth. It should be noted, however, that efficiency-enhancing reforms always have a distributional effect and can therefore contradict the short and medium-term interests of an influential sub-segment of society.

Population explosion

The high population growth is more of a burden for many developing countries because, among other things, it also consumes the gains in prosperity. For example, the developing countries had on average a high growth in gross domestic product in the last few decades, but due to the high population growth, the per capita income rose only half as much. The increase in population does not prevent development per se, but is more of a negative factor. However, it was precisely during their population explosion in the 18th and 19th centuries that the western European industrialized countries developed most rapidly. Experience has shown that advances in economic development lead to a decrease in the birth rate.

It corresponds to the analysis of the United Nations Population Fund and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development that setbacks in economic and social progress and deterioration in the social and political stability of developing countries are typical consequences of high population dynamics in developing countries.

Modernization theories

Main article: Theories of modernization

The modernization theories have emerged as a new variant of the endogenous theories since the 1950s. The reason was the increasing interest of the industrialized countries in so-called " development aid ". For advocates of modernization theory, the developing countries are developing in the same direction as the industrialized countries, only much more slowly. The advantage of the industrialized countries is that they are culturally more innovative and therefore develop faster.

The main obstacle to positive economic development lies in the fact that the inhabitants of the developing countries are not yet mobile and rational enough to adopt the socio-cultural, organizational and political innovations of the industrialized countries, according to advocates of a socio-psychological approach such as David Lerner .

The recommendations for action of the modernization theories provide that through a modernization of social institutions such as law, the political system, the education system, etc. a. the basis for economic growth and the associated welfare must be created. Modernization is understood to mean the process of transforming traditional institutions and behavioral habits to the modern forms that can be found in Western society. Since the causes of the underdevelopment are to be looked for in the developing countries themselves (in their backwardness), the solution can only lie in external help, i.e. in development aid and investments on the part of the industrialized countries.

Stage theories

Theories about the existence of stages in economic or social development have been around for a long time. Karl Marx was already of the opinion that social development takes place in stages.

Walt Whitman Rostow , an American economist and economic historian, divides the development process into five stages of growth in the Rostov model named after him :

the traditional society
society in transition
the stage of economic ascent (take off)
the development to maturity
the age of mass consumption

The agricultural, pre-modern society is followed by the transition period in which the important prerequisites for the upswing are created. During this time, economic and technical research advances , resulting in a structural change . The infrastructure and trade are expanded, but traditional structures still prevail. The breakthrough to an industrial society only takes place in the phase of economic growth : New industries emerge that ensure continuous economic growth . The development to maturity prepares society - for example through assembly line production - for the final age of mass consumption after Rostov .

Structuralist approach

Main articles: Structuralism (economic theory) and Neostructuralism (economic theory)

The structuralists are of the opinion that one must analyze the poverty of each country individually, since the structures of the underdevelopment differ regionally. They believe that underdevelopment is the result of a historical process that is reversible. Colonialism created a modern, export-oriented economic sector, which, however, creates a dependency on foreign countries, while a large part of the domestic economy is characterized by subsistence economy (dualism). The state of dependency is only found in a transition phase. In the opinion of the structuralists, solutions to problems are possible if certain framework conditions are changed.

Criticism of the modernization theories

The criticism of the modernization theories starts at various points.

Some critics start with the description, which is seen as inadequate: Western European modernization is only a singular historical development that cannot be ascribed any universal meaning. The developing countries are therefore not on the same but on a different development path. Other critical positions assume a mixture: there is both a common development direction of all societies towards technical and economic progress and a relative uniqueness of the history of each society.

Others see gaps in the explanation: the modernization theories offer no attempt to explain the greater speed of development of the industrialized countries, whose cultural innovations are simply assumed. Due to the inadequate explanations, the recommendations for action based on them are also unsuccessful.

The stage theories criticize the fact that the criteria for the individual stages are not precisely defined. Representatives of the dependency theory also questioned whether the development in the periphery and in the center really runs parallel (center-periphery model), because the two areas differ in their agricultural productivity, population growth and external influences.

Theories of Social Change as a Circular Process

Depiction of the vicious cycle of poverty in a school book.

A “ vicious circle of poverty” is often used to explain regional underdevelopment . The basic pattern of this scientific explanation corresponds to Boudon's “reproductive process”; it is a self-canceling interaction process that reproduces a steady equilibrium or maintains it in a state of stagnation. The causal processes can also be described in the sense of cybernetics as a negative feedback , whereby the social structure in question is kept stable in the long term. Nevertheless, a theory structured in this way cannot logically be called a tautology . For André Gunder Frank , a development theory such as that of Gunnar Myrdal and Seth S. King is in a circular argument: They argued that the poor are poor because they are poor and the rich are rich because they are rich.

Boudon's type of “cumulative processes” - the quantitative increases of which can also turn into processes of qualitative “transformation” - are processes of cumulative causation, as they are in the biographical processes of impoverishment , the polarization theory or, in the New Economic Geography, the processes of agglomeration or segregation underlie.

The backwardness of a region that remains relatively underdeveloped at a level of economic, social and cultural underdevelopment or, viewed as a whole, stagnates, can be explained by processes of district causality . For example, between the traditional cultural orientations and the resulting socially dominant reaction patterns to the reduced opportunities, as these are traditionally handed down in the structural and historical context of the economic geographic situation. Stagnation as a blockade of social change can be explained as fatalism or apathy according to the pattern of deviant behavior of the US sociologist Robert K. Merton , which reacts to the discrepancy between culturally defined goals and available social means. Such processes often include moments of self-fulfilling social prediction .

Geodeterminism theory

The geodeterminism theory assumes that the unfavorable geographic location of a country is the cause of its situation. This manifests itself, for example, in an inland location , which entails high transport costs and special taxes such as transit fees , a small area ( island state ), a climate that occurs in the form of long, periodic droughts ( Sahel zone ), extreme cold, strongly fluctuating amounts of precipitation or large annual temperature amplitude particularly hinders agriculture. Other factors are inferior soils, unfavorable surface structures such as altitude or slopes. The lack of raw materials and fossil fuels can also cause countries to develop more slowly as they have to import raw materials. The decisive factor is independence from raw materials at the beginning of the industrialization phase.

In this context, Jared Diamond's theses should be taken into account , according to which the Mediterranean region has a considerable advantage due to its location on a global transverse axis (from Gibraltar to China) as well as easier access to both imported and imported livestock and crop plants.

Resource Flight Theory

The term resource curse is used to describe the negative consequences that a wealth of raw materials can have for a country. Economic growth in countries that are heavily dependent on the export of mineral and fossil raw materials is generally lower than in countries that are poor in raw materials. Possible reasons for this include a reduction in the competitiveness of the remaining economic sectors, the state misuse of income from the raw materials sector or a lack of investment in education. African conflicts are financed with the proceeds from resources such as coltan or diamonds . The Fatal Transactions campaign also provides information on the political and economic connections between wars in Africa and the exploitation of resources .

With regard to a country like Ecuador , for example , it is discussed as a resource curse that the regular boom and collapse phases in the oil price make it difficult to build stable economic structures that are independent of oil. During the boom, the oil industry can pay higher wages and higher prices than most domestic competing industries. The latter are weakened in their national and international competitiveness. If the oil price collapses (as in 1983 or the mid-2000s), not only the petroleum-dependent industries are hit, but the non-resource industries are also weakened. This phenomenon is also known as " Dutch disease ".

Possible exogenous causes

In contrast to the endogenous theories, the causes which, according to the proponents, lead to or have caused underdevelopment lie outside the respective region.

Theory of the long-term deterioration in the terms of trade

The terms of trade are the terms of exchange (trading conditions) between raw material and finished goods suppliers. In his justification, Prebisch assumes that the developing countries mainly offer food and raw materials and demand industrial products, while the opposite direction of specialization applies to the industrialized countries. For the reasons listed below, there would be a steady deterioration in the terms of trade for the developing countries, as they have to export more and more primary goods in order to meet their demand for industrially manufactured products:

The low income elasticity of demand for primary goods: Primary goods are usually relatively inferior goods . This means that with rising incomes, the demand for primary goods increases disproportionately.
The high income elasticity of the demand for industrially manufactured goods: In contrast, industrially manufactured goods are superior goods . With rising incomes, these goods are in disproportionately high demand. This means that with growing incomes, the consumption of industrial finished goods increases, while the consumption of primary goods remains almost constant. Wage increases in developing countries mean that only the demand for industrially manufactured products increases significantly.
The different competitive situation on the primary goods and industrial goods markets: The primary goods markets are characterized by intense competition between the exporting countries. This is due, on the one hand, to the homogeneity and the associated substitutability of these goods and, on the other hand, to the specialization or restriction of developing countries to a few exportable primary goods. On the other hand, there is less competition in the industrial goods markets, since these products are diversified and therefore more difficult to substitute.
The high price elasticity of the demand for primary goods: Due to the interchangeability and the large number of suppliers, price increases for exportable primary goods are difficult to enforce on the world market. Let us assume that a drought rises the price of an export good in a developing country. As a result, the demand from abroad for this good will collapse because other exporters can offer and sell the good at a lower market price.
The low price elasticity of the demand for industrially manufactured goods: The demand for industrially manufactured goods hardly falls when prices rise, since consumers can only fall back on a few equivalent alternatives.
The different effects of productivity advances: Primary goods are often quantitative productivity advances (e.g. new cultivation methods or mining techniques). The result is an increase in supply when demand stagnates, which in turn leads to falling prices. Furthermore, advances in labor productivity are passed on directly to the industrialized countries in the form of price reductions in order to assert themselves in the face of strong competition. In the industrial goods sector, productivity advances are accompanied by an improvement in products (qualitative productivity advances), which leads to rising market prices and wages.

Some traders and consumers try to counteract this through fair trade .

Addiction theories

Marxist approach

The forerunners of the Marxist wing are the classical theorists of imperialism from the Second and Third World. The Marxists believe that their view of the dependency theory is globally valid everywhere. If underdevelopment is caused by the capitalist economic system, then the underdevelopment that follows from it is structurally the same everywhere. They think that underdevelopment is vital to the existence of capitalism, so it is insurmountable in this system too. For them, the state of dependence is not a transitional phase, but a historical end point in the capitalist development of the periphery. From the perspective of the Marxist approach, possible solutions are not possible within capitalism. The supporters trust that capitalism will collapse, which can only take place in the course of a revolution. The Marxists think that exploitation is the cause, as shown, for example, by the unequal trading conditions.

Imperialism theory

Theories of imperialism were developed between 1900 and 1920 by John Atkinson Hobson (English publicist and economist; Imperialism - A Study , 1902), Rudolf Hilferding (German politician, publicist and economist; Das Finanzkapital , 1910), Lenin (Russian revolutionary leader; Imperialism as the highest Stage of Capitalism , 1917) and Rosa Luxemburg (Polish-German internationalist; The Accumulation of Capital , 1913). With the emergence of the theories of dependency , they experienced a revival and modification in the mid-1960s.

For Marxists, imperialism (after Lenin ) is the current stage of capitalism.

The theories of imperialism deal with the following subject areas: The new international division of labor is largely determined by the international corporations. This means that multinational corporations are setting up manufacturing facilities in the Third World, which makes further development of the periphery almost impossible, since on the one hand income differences cannot be reduced. On the other hand, developing countries have no access to modern technologies because further training is not necessary: unskilled workers have no opportunity for further training. Furthermore, the periphery has little room for maneuver: the important decisions are still made by the industrialized countries.

The unequal exchange is still a big problem: Due to unequal terms of trade, the market is shifting in favor of the industrialized countries. This always happens when goods are not rewarded according to their value. This means that income is redistributed between the center and the periphery through international capital movements or direct investment.

Foreign direct investment leads to a steady outflow of profits; Corporations show profits in other countries - since local work is done at the lowest wages, there is a constant export of capital.

Critics of this theory are of the opinion that things like labor migration, technology transfer or currency relations are denied or ignored. They feel that the theories are not empirically backed up, which means that their approaches are not based on experience. The development strategies are largely limited to a revolution or a complete decoupling from the world market, but the consequences or follow-up steps are not discussed.

Dependency Theories

The center-periphery model of structuralism (economic theory) was also taken up by the dependency theory and the world system theory. Here: countries in the center of world trade (blue), countries on the periphery (red) and countries on the semi-periphery (purple) according to Christopher Chase-Dunn, Yukio Kawano and Benjamin Brewer, Trade Globalization since 1795

Main article: Dependency theory

The theories of dependency (also known as theories of dependency) first appeared in Latin America in the mid-1960s, as classic development policy failed at that time. A new basis for the theories was sought, at that time they turned against the classical theories and especially the modernization theories . The term “dependency theories” that was common at the time comes from the Spanish and Portuguese word for dependency “dependencia”. Supporters of these theories are of the opinion that underdevelopment results from the dependence of the Third World countries (periphery) on the industrialized countries (center). In contrast to the classical theories, underdevelopment is not due to internal ("endogenous") circumstances in the dependence theories; it is a logical consequence of history which the various countries have passed through in entirely different ways. Underdevelopment is a result of the incorporation of the Third World into the capitalist economic order of today, with the colonialist structures still visible. Through the power of capital that the industrialized countries have today, they manage to keep the poorer countries poor. The dependence of the underdeveloped countries on the industrialized countries is only economically justified, cultural and political dependence are only consequences of the economic dependence. That is why representatives of the theories of dependency consider today's world trading system to be neocolonialist. Because of the lack of foreign exchange, the developing countries are forced to exploit their own raw material deposits and to manufacture plantation products as cheaply as possible in order to export them to the industrialized countries. On the other hand, industrial products are imported from the West by a wealthy minority who have reached or even exceeded a standard of living and consumption according to current Western standards. These imports often lead to a foreign trade deficit. In the domestic industry, however, these consumer goods cannot be produced, as they usually lack the technology and capital for expensive production systems and capital goods. This fact increases the dependence of the developing countries on the capitalist metropolises. The rich minority, most of whom live in secure urban areas in the big cities, make up the political elite of these countries. Through representative roles in politics, which these "rich" often hold, they are jointly responsible for maintaining the state of affairs that prevails in developing countries. Often times, they are the biggest winners in this situation. They push the majority of the population to the limit of the subsistence level and thereby widen the gap between the poor and the rich. All supporters of the theories of dependency agree on the above points, but there are two different approaches within the support group, the structuralist and the Marxist, which differ in some points.

Criticism of the theories of dependence

With the emergence of the theories of dependency, the predominant classical theories were criticized, the explanation of the underdevelopment was expanded to include important aspects. Nevertheless, they too were critically discussed, especially the totality claim of the Marxist approach. Criticism is directed u. a. to an inadequate explanation: The dependency theories do not offer any (sufficient) explanation as to why the industrialized countries were able to subjugate the less developed countries at all. Just as the modernization theorists played down the power imbalance and the dependencies between centers and peripheries, conversely the dependency theorists would not adequately describe and explain the developmental lead of the industrialized countries. Another point of criticism of the dependency theories consists in the fact that endogenous development obstacles are excluded, since the causes of underdevelopment are located exogenously. Internal grievances in the developing countries themselves are ignored, e.g. B. self-enriching dictators or corruption.

Criticism of the development theories

The conflicts between the various currents have eased, as dissatisfaction with all development theories is widespread. It is often criticized that none of the theories describe reality plausibly and explain it without contradiction. They are more or less monocausal and, with their global validity claim, mask locally relevant conditions. The problems of developing countries are increasingly seen as a complex of symptoms , for the explanation of which natural , demographic , social, political and religious, i.e. equally endogenous and exogenous factors must be used. For a sufficient explanation one would have to go back further than just a few centuries. In addition, the whole concept of development theory is fundamentally Eurocentric .

literature

Bohnet, Michael: 40 years of bridges between development research and development policy, with a foreword by Dirk Messner and an introduction by Franz Nuscheler. Verlag Scientia Bonnensis, Bonn 2011, Bohnet, Michael: 40 years of bridges between development research and development policy, with a foreword by Dirk Messner and an introduction by Franz Nuscheler. Scientia Bonnensis publishing house, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-940766-43-4 .
Hartmut Ihne, Jürgen Wilhelm (Ed.): Introduction to Development Policy. 2nd edition, Münster-Hamburg 2006, ISBN 3-8258-8152-0 .
Franz Nuscheler : Learning and work book development policy . 5th edition. Dietz, Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8012-0350-6 .
Hartmut Elsenhans : North-South Relations. History - Politics - Economy [1984], Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz, Kohlhammer, 2nd edition 1987, ISBN 3-17-009714-8 .
Hartmut Elsenhans: Dependent Capitalism or Bureaucratic Development Society. Trial on the State in the Third World [1981], Frankfurt / Main / New York, Campus, 2nd edition 1984, ISBN 3-593-32792-9 .
Fred Scholz : Geographical Development Research . Borntraeger, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-443-07138-4 .
Wolfgang Sohst : Real possibility. A general theory of becoming . xenomoi, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-942106-41-2 .
Karin Fischer, Irmi Maral-Hanak, Gerald Hödl and Christof Parnreiter: Development and Underdevelopment. An introduction to problems, theories and strategies . Mandelbaum, Vienna, 2004, ISBN 3854761406 .
Uwe Holtz (ed.): Problems of development policy . Bonn, 1997, ISBN 3-416-02727-2 .
Gilbert Rist (with Fabrizio Sabelli): Il était une fois le développement , dt. The fairy tale of the development. A myth of western industrial society and its consequences for the “third world” . Rotpunktverlag, Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-85869-053-8 .
Gilbert Rist: The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith . Expanded Edition, Zed Books, London 2003, ISBN 1842771817 .
Aram Ziai: Between Global Governance and Post-Development. Development policy from a discourse analysis perspective . Münster 2006, ISBN 9783896915924 .

Individual evidence

^ Ralf Dahrendorf: Social classes and class conflict in industrial society. Ferdinand Enke Verlag Stuttgart 1957. S. VIII.

↑ ^a ^b Franziska Müller, Aram Ziai: Eurocentrism in Development Cooperation , on bpb.de, article from February 6, 2015, accessed on June 10, 2019.

↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education, Development Deficits and Possible Causes

^ Willi Albers, Concise Dictionary of Economics , Volume 8, UTB for Science, ISBN 9783525102572 , p. 397
↑ Rick Szostak, The Causes of Economic Growth: Interdisciplinary Perspectives , Springer Science & Business Media, 2009, ISBN 9783540922827 , pp. 21-22
↑ Daron Acemoglu, Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Princeton University Press, 2008, ISBN 9781400835775 , pp. 121, 136-137
↑ Daron Acemoglu : Introduction to Modern Economic Growth , Princeton University Press, 2008, ISBN 9781400835775 , p. 121.
↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education, Development Deficits and Possible Causes

↑ Christian Herbert Jahn, Population Growth and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries , Dissertation Freie Universität Berlin 2001, pp. 27–28

^ Walt Whitman Rostow: The stages of economic growth: a non-communist manifesto . 3. Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990, pp. 10-16.

↑ Gunnar Myrdal, Seth S. King: Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations. Suhrkamp: Frankfurt / Main 1980. ISBN 3518371347

^ Andre Gunder Frank: Dependent accumulation and underdevelopment. Suhrkamp: Frankfurt 1st edition 1980 (es 706). P. 18

↑ Tommy M. Phillips: A Triarchic Model of Poverty Theory & Science (2007). ISSN 1527-5558 .

^ Social Theory and Social Structure , Glencoe 1957, chap. IV and V

^ Richard M. Auty: Sustaining Development in Mineral Economies: The Resource Curse Thesis. London: Routledge, 1993.

↑ Greg Campbell: Deadly Stones. The global diamond trade and its consequences, EVA, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-434-50554-9

↑ Reinhard Stockmann, Ulrich Menzel, Franz Nuscheler: Development Policy: Theories - Problems - Strategies. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-486-58998-6 , p. 102.

Web links

[1] Ralf Dahrendorf: Social classes and class conflict in industrial society. Ferdinand Enke Verlag Stuttgart 1957. S. VIII.

[bpb-2] Franziska Müller, Aram Ziai: Eurocentrism in Development Cooperation , on bpb.de, article from February 6, 2015, accessed on June 10, 2019.