| This study is an attempt to assimilate criticisms of previous cross-national world systems/dependency research while contributing analyses using a new and more current dataset. The data used in this study comes from the 1980s and early 1990s, allowing for an updated assessment of the effects of foreign investment and foreign economic control, often called "foreign capital penetration" in the literature, on economic growth in less developed countries. Findings generally support world systems/dependency theory, indicating a negative effect of foreign capital penetration on economic growth net of other factors. Additionally, findings differ from previous research in that variables indicating increased access to the global marketplace have positive implications for economic growth in less developed countries. |
