Which theory of economic development suggests that the periphery depends on the core?

Dependency theory provides a framework for understanding the economic relationships between developed (core) nations and underdeveloped (peripheral) nations. According to this theory, the economic development of the periphery is heavily reliant on the core countries. It posits that resources flow from the periphery, where raw materials and labor are sourced, to the core, which benefits from this extraction and uses it to develop its own economy further. This relationship fosters a cycle of dependency, where the periphery remains economically weak and unable to develop independently due to its reliance on the core's markets and capital.

In contrast, modernization theory emphasizes that all countries can develop through a linear process of industrialization and economic growth, often disregarding historical contexts and global interdependencies. World-systems theory, while also accounting for core-periphery dynamics, focuses more broadly on global economic systems and structures rather than just a dependency relationship. Structural adjustment theory relates to economic policies imposed on developing countries by international financial institutions as conditions for receiving loans, which do not inherently reflect the dependency relationship outlined in dependency theory.