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GCSE/Geography/Edexcel

T2.3Theories of development: Rostow’s modernisation model and Frank’s dependency theory; alternative pathways out of poverty

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Notes

Theories of Development

Geographers use development theories to explain WHY countries follow different pathways from poverty to wealth. The two most-tested at GCSE are Rostow's modernisation model and Frank's dependency theory — they offer opposing diagnoses and prescriptions.

Rostow's Modernisation Theory (1960)

W.W. Rostow argued every country progresses through 5 linear stages of economic growth:

  1. Traditional society — subsistence agriculture; low productivity; no science.
  2. Pre-conditions for take-off — first investment in transport, energy, education; commercial farming begins.
  3. Take-off — rapid industrialisation; investment >10% of GDP; political and social institutions modernise (UK ~1780–1830; Japan 1860s; China 1980s).
  4. Drive to maturity — diversification across industries; technology spreads; standards of living rise (UK 1850–1950).
  5. Age of high mass consumption — service economy dominant; consumer durables; welfare state (UK from 1950s; USA earlier).

Implications: Rostow suggests LIDCs simply need to follow the same path. HICs can speed it up by aid, FDI and trade. The model underpinned the Marshall Plan and 1960s development aid.

Frank's Dependency Theory (1967)

Andre Gunder Frank rejected Rostow as Eurocentric. He argued the world is divided into:

  • Core — wealthy industrialised HICs.
  • Periphery — LIDCs supplying raw materials to the core.

Through colonialism, then neo-colonial trade, the core extracts wealth from the periphery and traps it in underdevelopment. Examples:

  • Coffee farmer in Ethiopia earns ~$0.10 per cup; Starbucks captures the rest.
  • Cobalt mined in DRC at low wages; profits go to refiners and tech firms.
  • Trade rules (subsidised EU farms, tariff escalation on processed goods) favour the core.

Implications: mainstream aid and FDI deepen dependency; the periphery should disengage from the core (import substitution; nationalisation). Tested in Latin America in the 1970s with mixed results.

Alternative pathways

  • East Asian state-led development (South Korea, Singapore) — selective FDI + export industrialisation under strong state.
  • Bottom-up / appropriate technology (Schumacher) — focus on grass-roots, sustainable improvement.
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — 17 goals to 2030 integrating economic, social, environmental.

Synthesis

Neither model fully explains every case. Rostow describes pathways HICs and East Asian Tigers followed. Dependency captures why many sub-Saharan African states remain trapped in commodity exports despite decades of aid.

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Practice questions

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  1. Question 14 marks

    Rostow's 5 stages (4 marks)

    Identify and briefly describe TWO of Rostow's five stages of development. [4 marks]

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  2. Question 28 marks

    Examine the differences between Rostow and Frank (8 marks)

    Examine how Rostow's modernisation theory and Frank's dependency theory differ in explaining why countries develop at different rates. [8 marks]

    Level mark scheme:

    LevelMarksDescriptor
    L11–3Simple description of one or both theories; no clear contrast; no examples.
    L24–6Some explanation of both theories; partial contrast; some named examples.
    L37–8Detailed contrast on diagnosis, prescription and implications; named examples for each; evaluative conclusion.

    Indicative content:

    Rostow's diagnosis (linear, internal):

    • Development is a sequence of 5 universal stages (traditional → take-off → mass consumption).
    • Country-internal factors (capital investment, institutions, technology) drive progression.
    • Prescription: aid, FDI, trade integration speed up the path. UK, Japan, South Korea fit the model.

    Frank's diagnosis (structural, external):

    • The world is split into core (HICs) and periphery (LIDCs).
    • Through colonialism then neo-colonial trade, the core extracts wealth, trapping the periphery in underdevelopment.
    • Prescription: the periphery should disengage from the core; nationalise resources; pursue import substitution.

    Examples:

    • Rostow fits: South Korea (1960–2000) industrialised rapidly with state-led FDI and export drive.
    • Frank fits: Ethiopia's coffee economy — farmers earn cents per cup while value is captured downstream by core HIC firms; DRC cobalt similar.

    Conclusion: the theories ask different questions — Rostow asks "what stages do successful developers go through?", Frank asks "why are some countries blocked from those stages by global structures?". Both have explanatory power for different cases, but neither alone explains all pathways. East Asian success cases combine elements of both.

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  3. Question 312 marks

    Evaluate alternative pathways out of poverty (12 marks)

    Evaluate the extent to which alternative development models (such as East Asian state-led development or bottom-up sustainable development) offer a more realistic pathway out of poverty than Rostow's or Frank's theories. [12 marks]

    Level mark scheme:

    LevelMarksDescriptor
    L11–4Simple description of one or two models; no genuine evaluation; weak/no examples.
    L25–8Discussion of multiple models with examples; partial evaluation.
    L39–12Detailed evaluation; multiple models compared; named examples with data; weighted judgement on realism; justified conclusion.

    Indicative content:

    Rostow strengths/weaknesses:

    • Explains UK, Japan, S Korea, China take-off paths well.
    • Eurocentric; assumes a single linear path; ignores colonial extraction; cannot explain why most LIDCs have not "taken off" despite decades of aid.

    Frank strengths/weaknesses:

    • Explains commodity-trap economies (Ethiopia coffee, DRC cobalt) and persistent poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
    • Pessimistic — tested in 1970s Latin America with mixed results; over-emphasises external factors and underplays governance.

    East Asian state-led model (S Korea, Singapore, Taiwan):

    • Strong state direction + selective FDI + export industrialisation.
    • Successes: S Korea moved from $100 GDP/capita in 1960 to $30,000+ by 2020 (HDI now top 25).
    • Limitations: required disciplined state institutions; not easily replicated in weak-state contexts; depended on Cold War US market access.

    Bottom-up / appropriate technology (Schumacher; "small is beautiful"):

    • Grass-roots, locally-driven, intermediate technology (e.g. solar lanterns, hand pumps, microfinance).
    • Successes: SEWA microfinance in India; M-Pesa mobile banking lifted 200,000 Kenyan households out of poverty.
    • Limitations: small-scale; doesn't industrialise an economy; can't deliver structural transformation alone.

    SDGs (UN 2015):

    • 17 integrated goals — economic, social, environmental — with 2030 targets.
    • Successes: clearer global accountability; integrates climate, gender, inequality.
    • Limitations: aspirational; no enforcement; many goals off-track.

    Conclusion: there is no single "realistic" pathway. The East Asian model is the strongest empirical example of rapid catch-up but required exceptional state capacity and Cold War-era US market access. Bottom-up models complement but do not replace structural transformation. The most realistic approach for today's LIDCs is probably a hybrid: SDG-aligned national strategies, selective state-led industrialisation where capacity exists, and bottom-up appropriate-technology programmes for the poorest. Frank's diagnosis of structural traps remains valuable as a warning, while Rostow's ladder still describes ONE possible path among several.

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Flashcards

T2.3 — Theories of development: Rostow's modernisation model and Frank's dependency theory

7-card SR deck for Edexcel Geography (leaves batch 2) topic T2.3

7 cards · spaced repetition (SM-2)

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