CAPITAL ACCUMULATION AND THE AGRARIAN CRISIS IN THE PERIPHERY OF THE CAPITALIST WORLD ECONOMY (HUNGER, DEPENDENCE, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT)
Abstract
This research uses recent contributions to the "dependent development" argument of world-system/dependency theory to interpret the agrarian crisis in the periphery of the capitalist world economy. The agrarian crisis is characterized in the periphery by two principle dimensions. The production dimension is manifest in the dynamic growth of capital intensive, market crop production in contrast to the stagnation of labor intensive, staple food production. The social dimension is manifest in the impoverishment and dispossession of the rural population. Dependent development theorists such as Samir Amin argue that investment dependence, and the subsequent demand for foreign exchange which it engenders, underlies the predominant development of export production in periphery nations. This dynamic relationship is central to the theoretical model specified here to interpret the agrarian crisis. Multiple regression analysis of data for eighty-five periphery nations supports the theoretical model. The findings indicate that: (1) investment dependence has a strong positive effect on the demand for foreign exchange; (2) the demand for foreign exchange promotes both agricultural modernization and agricultural export production; (3) agricultural modernization has a significant positive effect on export production but does not have a significant effect on staple food production; (4) agricultural modernization and export production are negatively associated with agricultural employment while staple food production is positively associated; and (5) agricultural employment has a strong negative effect on rural-to-urban migration.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Social structure
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