The Dark Side of the Boom: Land Grabbing in Dependent Countries in the Twenty-First Century. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Costantino, Agostina
• Is Part Of: International critical thought. Volume 6:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 79
• Page End: 100
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: Land grabbing -- dependency theory -- capital accumulation; Critical thinking -- Periodicals; Current events -- Periodicals; 153.4205
• DOI: 10.1080/21598282.2016.1142386
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2159-8282

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that dependent countries are affected by the phenomenon of land grabbing, and that the major investors acquiring land come from countries of the "center." The phenomenon thus has two effects in terms of worldwide production specialization: (1) a "vertical" effect of bringing about greater differentiation between the traditional countries of the "center" and dependent countries, where the latter focus their development policies on deepening their foreignized and primarized productive structures; and (2) a "horizontal" effect, through which states such as China and the Arab countries, which are developing countries in terms of their productive structure, are differentiated from the rest of the dependent countries in terms of their capacity to export capital.