Structural Blockage: A Cross-National Study of Economic Dependency, State Efficacy, and Underdevelopment

Abstract

This cross-national study of the effects of dependency and state efficacy on development supports the "structural blockage" argument of dependency theory. According to this argument, international economic dependency impedes development in the more advanced countries of the periphery of the world capitalist system. In support of this argument, we show that two forms of participation in the world economy, the export of a small number of commodities and the export of primary products, obstruct development in advanced peripheral countries. The argument that these forms of participation in trade pose internal, structural obstacles to development is supported by evidence showing that state-sponsored institutional transformations outweigh the development-stunting influence of these forms of participation. On the basis of these findings, we argue against the divergent-development thesis implied in some dependency arguments.