Development Theories Lab
Why are some countries rich and others poor? Weigh Rostow against Frank, order the stages of growth, and match each development approach to who drives it.
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Rich world, poor world 🌍
Why are some countries rich and others poor? Geographers use **development theories** to explain global inequality. Two of the most famous disagree sharply: **Rostow** and **Frank**. This lab pits them against each other.
Rostow's five stages 🪜
Rostow's **modernisation theory** (1960) says every country develops through the **same five stages**, climbing higher as it invests and modernises. It is **optimistic** and looks at what happens **inside** a country, not at its relationships with others.
Rostow's ladder
An interactive activity.
Rostow's view
According to Rostow, how does a country develop?
- By climbing through stages as it invests and modernises
- By being exploited by richer countries
- By staying a traditional farming society
- It never really changes at all
Frank's dependency theory 🔗
Frank saw the world split into a wealthy **core** and a poorer **periphery**. The core grew rich by **exploiting** the periphery, through colonial history and unfair trade. This keeps poorer countries **dependent** and underdeveloped. It is a **structural** view that looks at relationships **between** countries.
Frank's view
What does Frank blame global inequality on?
- Richer core countries exploiting poorer periphery ones
- Poorer countries simply failing to modernise
- A natural set of development stages
- The weather and physical geography alone
Match each term to its key idea
- Rostow
- Frank
- The core
- The periphery
- Countries climb five stages of growth
- The rich exploit the poor to stay ahead
- Wealthy, industrialised countries
- Poorer countries supplying cheap goods and labour
Two ways to develop 🏗️
Development projects come in two styles: - **Top-down**: large projects decided by governments or **IGOs** (intergovernmental organisations like the World Bank), such as a huge dam. - **Bottom-up**: small projects led by **local communities**, often run by **NGOs**, using appropriate technology to meet local needs.
Match each actor or approach to its description
- Top-down
- Bottom-up
- A TNC
- An NGO
- A large project decided by governments or big bodies
- A small project led by the local community
- A large company operating across many countries
- A non-profit charity, often running local projects
Bottom-up features
Select the TWO features of bottom-up development.
- It is led by local communities
- It uses appropriate, small-scale technology
- It relies on huge projects run by central government
- It ignores what local people actually need
Choose the approach
An interactive activity.
Development-theories frame
Rostow's theory says countries develop by climbing five _____, while Frank's theory blames inequality on the rich _____ exploiting the poor periphery. Development can be _____-down, using large government projects, or bottom-up, using small local ones often run by _____.
The big contrast
Which statement best contrasts the two theories?
- Rostow is optimistic about internal progress; Frank blames external exploitation
- Both say inequality is caused by exploitation
- Both describe the same five stages of growth
- Neither theory tries to explain global inequality