Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth & Wallerstein's World Theory [AP Human Geography Unit 7 Topic 5]

Summary

This video by Mr. Sinn explores two major concepts in economic geography: Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth and Wallerstein's World System Theory. The presentation starts with Rostow's linear model of development, explaining five stages from a traditional society to high mass consumption, highlighting the role of technology and industrialization. However, it also criticizes the model for ignoring historical and environmental limitations on development. The video then delves into the Dependency Theory, contrasting it with Rostow by asserting that some countries' economies are constrained by reliance on more developed nations. Finally, Wallerstein's theory categorizes countries into core, semi-periphery, and periphery, emphasizing global inequality. Examples like Venezuela illustrate these concepts, particularly the vulnerabilities of commodity-dependent economies.

Highlights

• Rostow's stages describe a linear development model from traditional society to high mass consumption. 📚
• Critics argue Rostow's model overlooks historical and environmental influences on development. 🚫
• Dependency Theory suggests less developed countries' growth is stifled by dependence on core economies. 🔗
• Wallerstein's theory breaks down countries based on economic development and global economic roles. ⚖️
• Commodity-dependent nations, like Venezuela, face economic risks tied to fluctuating global prices. 💰

Key Takeaways

• Rostow's model outlines a 5-stage economic growth process, but it's criticized for oversimplifying development. 📈
• Wallerstein's World System Theory categorizes countries into core, semi-periphery, and periphery, highlighting global economic inequality. 🌍
• Dependency Theory argues that economic reliance on developed countries hinders some nations' growth. 🤝
• Commodity dependence can make economies vulnerable to price fluctuations, as seen with Venezuela's oil crisis. ⛽
• Understanding these theories helps explain current global economic dynamics and disparities. 🔍

Overview

Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth propose a linear progression through five stages: traditional society, preconditions for takeoff, takeoff, drive to maturity, and high mass consumption. Each stage reflects increased complexity and capability in economic activities, driven by industrialization and urbanization. However, critics argue that this model ignores many historical and environmental factors that also influence economic development.

On the other hand, Wallerstein's World System Theory presents a more nuanced view of global economics, categorizing countries into core, semi-periphery, and periphery. This theory emphasizes the unequal relationships and dependencies imposed by historical colonization and modern economic practices. These dependencies are further explored through the lens of the Dependency Theory, which posits that the economic prospects of less developed countries are often curtailed by their interactions with more advanced economies.

The video also touches upon the concept of commodity dependence, where countries heavily rely on a few key exports for economic stability. This dependence can stifle broader economic growth and increase vulnerability to external market shocks, as exemplified by Venezuela's economic crisis following plummeting oil prices. These economic theories and examples collectively stress the complexity of global economic development and the varying factors that contribute to current disparities.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction to Concepts The chapter introduces the concept of economic growth and theories related to it. It discusses various models like Rostow's stages of economic growth and Wallerstein's World System Theory, highlighting how the global economy is a major force in economic development, though it benefits countries unevenly.
• 01:00 - 03:30: Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth outlines five stages of development common to all countries as they progress economically.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Critiques of Rostow's Model This chapter critiques Rostow's Model, specifically examining the primary sector and the transition into the second stage known as preconditions for takeoff. It emphasizes the role of infrastructure and education investments in economic growth. Furthermore, it discusses the increase in productivity and the emergence of new industries, which create more jobs in the secondary sector.
• 04:00 - 06:00: Dependency Theory This chapter focuses on Dependency Theory, discussing the transformative impact of manufacturing and resource processing on a state's economy and political environment. The narrative explores the transition of jobs from agriculture to industry, highlighting the economic growth and increased foreign interest during the 'takeoff stage'.
• 06:00 - 09:00: Wallerstein's World System Theory This chapter discusses Wallerstein's World System Theory, focusing on the economic growth dynamics and urbanization as jobs and opportunities arise in the secondary sector. States in this stage gain access to new technology, enhancing production capabilities. However, these states face exploitation by foreign entities seeking raw resources and cheap labor. The chapter also touches upon the 'drive to maturity' stage, where a state starts to specialize and actively engage in global trade.
• 09:00 - 11:00: Commodity Dependence The chapter titled 'Commodity Dependence' discusses the economic transition from heavy industrial industries towards more consumer goods production as part of economic diversification. It describes how economies in this stage experience stabilization and reduced reliance on natural resource exports. The influence of external states is still present, but the state is moving towards greater economic independence. The transition ultimately leads to a high mass consumption state, indicative of a fully developed economy.
• 11:00 - 13:00: Conclusion and Call to Action In the conclusion, the chapter discusses the transition to an economy that emphasizes fulfilling both basic needs and desires. It describes how most jobs have moved into the tertiary sector, leading to greater independence from foreign influence. This stage is marked by the rise of consumer culture as economies focus more on consumption rather than manufacturing. Understanding this model helps in analyzing how economies evolve over time.

Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth & Wallerstein's World Theory [AP Human Geography Unit 7 Topic 5] Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 good morning afternoon evening night whenever you're watching this welcome back to the Mr Sinchan today geographers is an exciting day not only are we going to talk about Resto stages of economic growth we are also going to review wallerstein's World System Theory the Dependency Theory and so much more now in looking at the world today we can see that the global economy has become a key driving force behind economic growth for countries around the world however we can see that the global economy disproportionately benefits some
• 00:30 - 01:00 countries over others to start let's explore Resto stages of economic growth which outlined five stages of development that countries generally go through as they develop economically starting off we have the traditional Society during this stage the economy is mainly subsistent with the majority of the population being engaged in jobs that are part of the primary sector such as subsistence Farmers generally countries in this stage experience slow economic growth have little specialization and often lack modern
• 01:00 - 01:30 technology speaking of The primary sector if you need a review on any of the different economic sectors make sure you go back and watch my unit 7 topic 2 video which will review everything that you need to know now the second stage of the model is preconditions for takeoff during the stage the economy begins to grow due to more investment in infrastructure and education as time goes on productivity starts to increase as new Industries start to emerge these new Industries allow for more jobs to open up in the secondary sector of the
• 01:30 - 02:00 economy as more jobs start to be centered around manufacturing and the processing of raw resources all of which ends up impacting both the political environment and the economic structure of the state as more foreign States become interested in the state and their resources from there Society moves into the third stage which is the takeoff stage during the stages when rapid economic growth occurs during this stage jobs start to transition out of traditional agricultural based activities and into Industrial activity
• 02:00 - 02:30 this new economic growth also leads to increased urbanization as more jobs and opportunities continue to open up for citizens in the secondary sector States here also gain access to new technology which helps increase their overall production but unfortunately we can also see States in this stage get exploited by Foreign States as they seek to take advantage of their raw resources and cheap labor next is the drive to maturity stage which is when a state starts to specialize more and participates more in global trade all of
• 02:30 - 03:00 which helps diversify the economy and create new opportunities for citizens in the tertiary sector during this stage we start to see a shift from heavy industrial Industries to more consumer goods as economic growth continues to occur and the economy stabilizes States in this stage will often still see influence from outside States in their economy however the state is starting to become more independent and is now less reliant on the exportation of their natural resources lastly there's the high mass consumption State here the economy becomes full fully developed
• 03:00 - 03:30 Society now producing products that not only meet society's basic needs but their wants as well during this stage the majority of jobs have shifted into the tertiary sector of the economy with the state now being fairly independent from outside influences States in this stage also often develop a consumer culture as the economy becomes centered around consumption instead of manufacturing by understanding ristow's model we can gain insight into how countries economies develop and change over time however it is important to
• 03:30 - 04:00 note that this model has been criticized for not accounting for outside political and social factors for example the impact that colonialism had on states and their development it also doesn't take into account environmental limitations on a country such as a carrying capacity and limited resources now while resto's model of economic growth states that all countries progress through a series of stages our next Theory rejects this claim stating that countries often cannot follow the same path of development I'm talking about the Dependency Theory which states
• 04:00 - 04:30 that the development of certain countries are hindered by their dependence on developed countries for economic growth and resources we can see this when looking at the global market today oftentimes core countries and multinational corporations use their economic power to exploit the semi-periphery and periphery countries this is often done by creating unequal trade relationships and Investments less economically developed countries often rely on exporting raw materials and low-skilled labor to more economically
• 04:30 - 05:00 developed countries which ultimately does not significantly increase their own economic growth and develop instead it helps more economically developed countries get cheaper goods and services for their citizens sometimes this trade can actually negatively impact the developing country as now their production is going to foreign States instead of going to their own citizens now you might be thinking well why wouldn't semi-perphry and periphery country stand up to the core countries and negotiate better terms for trade well to be fair sometimes they do but the price problem is that if a less
• 05:00 - 05:30 economically developed country demands better terms for trade the core country or multinational company can just take their business to a different developing country so we can see that the balance of power in the trade deal is tipped in favor of the more economically developed countries we can see this imbalance of power in global trade when looking at wallerstein's World System Theory the theory breaks countries down into three main categories core countries which are the most economically developed semi-perfury countries which consist of
• 05:30 - 06:00 countries with emerging economies that are not quite at the same level of core countries but also further along than periphery countries and lastly periphery countries which are the least economically developed countries and often have the lowest standard of living the model is based on the belief that all countries are now interdependent on one another starting with core countries we can see that they are purchasers of consumption goods from semi periphery and periphery countries core countries are the ones that hold the dominant
• 06:00 - 06:30 power and control the global economy they are also the ones to most often exploit the resources of semi periphery and periphery country moving over to semi-perfree countries we can see states that are in transition between the core and perfect semi-perfury countries are more industrialized than periphery country and if more jobs located in the secondary sector of the economy these countries also have established infrastructure for the exportation of goods cheaper labor and less regulations on the production of different goods and services all of which leads to more
• 06:30 - 07:00 production and exportation of goods from semi-perfury countries to core countries lastly we can see periphery countries at the bottom of this global trade these countries will often see their economy become dependent on just a few core countries which often leads to the exploitation of the country's cheap labor and raw resources oftentimes it's difficult for these countries to advance economically since so many of the country's resources are being exported to core countries instead of benefiting the local economy which we can see
• 07:00 - 07:30 connects back to the Dependency Theory which we talked about earlier in this video we've actually talked about some of these Global imbalances and themes already back in unit four when we looked at neocolonialism and again in unit 5 when we looked at the global food supply and talked about food insecurity around the world so when looking at wallerstein's World System Theory we can gain insight into the hierarchy of power and resources between more economically developed countries and less economically developed countries all of which stems back to the colonial era in
• 07:30 - 08:00 fact this Theory acknowledges the role that colonialism and imperialism played in shaping the current global economic system colonizing countries created vast Empires that led to the mass exploitation of resources and labor around the developing world and even when decolonization occurred many of these former colonies remain dependent on their former colonizing country due to the poor systems that were created while they were being ruled now there are people who have criticized wallerstein's Theory and have pointed out that the Theory fails to account for
• 08:00 - 08:30 non-governmental organizations that offer microfinancing for individuals in developing countries and it also fails to consider other programs such as micro loans that seek to support individuals in the semi-perfree and periphery country allowing them to become independent and more self-reliant one other concept that I want to highlight when looking at development is the concept of a commodity dependence this is when a country has more than 60 percent of its total exports made up of Commodities which consists of raw materials or agricultural products
• 08:30 - 09:00 countries with a commodity dependence are vulnerable to any price changes that happen in the price of the Commodities that they export these countries also see less economic development in other Industries since their economy is centered around just a few Commodities when looking at the world we can see many countries that are located in the periphery or semi periphery have a commodity dependent the problem of having a commodity dependence is that the state becomes extremely vulnerable to any external changes in the commodity
• 09:00 - 09:30 that they depend oftentimes Commodities see significant changes in their price over time which can end up crippling a country's economy states that have a commodity dependence often become overly reliant on the Commodities revenue and end up neglecting other parts of their country and economy all of which limits their diversification and limits development in other sectors of the economy putting further Reliance on the commodity that is being exported today we can look at Venezuela as an example of a state with a commodity dependent currently around 65 percent of Venezuela's exports consists of crude
• 09:30 - 10:00 petroleum and refined petroleum which is a significant amount however if we go back to 2013 we can see that these two categories consisted of just over 95 percent of the country's exports causing their economy to become extremely reliant on the exportation of oil which ended up having disastrous consequences in 2014 when the global price of oil fell resulting in a collapse of the Venezuelan economy so we can see that the world today is more connected than than ever before and this global trade
• 10:00 - 10:30 has real life impacts on countries around the world but now comes the time to practice what you've learned answer the questions on the screen and when you're done check your answers down in the comment section down below also while you're down there checking your answers make sure to hit that subscribe button and check out my ultimate review packet for more help with your AP human geography class it is a great resource that'll help you get an A in your class and a five on the national exam as always I'm Mr sin thank you so much for watching and I will see you next time online