Final answer:
According to dependency theory, poor countries have become dependent on rich nations because they sell raw materials to rich nations, resulting in a cycle of global inequality and hindering their development.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to dependency theory, poor countries have become dependent on rich nations predominantly because they sell raw materials to rich nations. This economic model is characterized by the control that industrialized nations exert over the destinies of developing nations through strategic market dominance. Core nations, also known as high-income nations, exploit semi-peripheral and peripheral nations, resulting in global inequality and creating a cycle of dependence that hinders the development and growth of the poorer countries. Dependency theorists argue that this dependence is sustained by core nations providing economic stimulus and dictating access to a larger piece of the global economy, ensuring a continued market for their technologically advanced products and services.
Trade policies influenced by dependency theory suggest that the relationship between rich and poor countries enables rich countries to maintain their wealth and power, while poor countries remain impoverished and dependent. Developing countries are encouraged to become independent of developed nations to achieve economic development. Dependency theory critiqued the traditional comparative advantage approach to international trade, positing instead that such trade often benefits the developed nations to the detriment of developing ones.