Bringing people to the center stage: Structural disarticulation, the global debt crisis and Third World human development

Structural disarticulation and external indebtedness present major obstacles to Third World human development. This dissertation advances an integrated theoretical framework drawing on modernization theory, ecological-evolutionary ideas, world-system/dependency theory, and the dependent development theory to explain human development for Third World countries. Using a sample of 54-67 LDCs, regression analysis and path analysis (LISREL) are used to explain disarticulation and human development. Results indicate that structural disarticulation is a strong determinant of human development level, mediating the effect of economic dependency on Third World human development. The developmental state, urbanization, foreign investment penetration reduce structural disarticulation in these economies while export dependency, external indebtedness and IMF austerity policies reinforce structural disarticulation. These results call for a more eclectic approach to studying the internal and international forces that shape the disarticulation of LDC economies and the sources of human development in the Third World.