Structural Dependency

Structural dependency is an economic relationship that leads to slow or no economic growth in countries that develop in the shadow of already developed countries. The direction of economic development in a less developed country is hijacked to meet the needs of a more developed country. Alliances between economic elites in a less developed country with economic elites in a developed country facilitate this relationship. Over time, terms of trade erode for the developing country, making it give up increasingly more of its resources to pay back debts that were incurred when capital from the more advanced country was initially introduced into the economy. A condition of permanent indebtedness hinders the development of a lesser-developed country and prevents it from mirroring the growth path followed ...