Periphery Countries

As navigation technology in Europe advanced European colonization quickly spread throughout the world. This spreading of colonization enabled the creation of the modern capitalist world economy as imperial countries began to exploit their colonies for the natural resources they produced (Knox and Marston 41). This exploitation allowed for individuals in the imperial countries to profit and competitively sell goods, creating and capitalist world economy. When these colonies later broke from their imperial countries they entered the world economy as peripheral countries that were still being exploited for their cheap labor and resources. Peripheral countries will always exist due to reliance on production of inelastic goods, susceptibility to boom and bust cycles, and the fluidity of a country’s status in the world system.
One of the key characteristics of a periphery country is the fact that its economy is largely defined by resource extraction or agriculture. These raw materials have a tendency to be inelastic, and therefore not very profitable for the countries that produce …show more content…
If a boom is large enough to enable a periphery country to take off into a semi-periphery country, then the subsequent bust will likely be large enough to substantially cut profits and return the country into the periphery. The beaver pelt boom and bust is a prime example of this. Beaver pelts were a highly sought and very profitable material to specialize in when hats made of beaver were in fashion. When fashion changed a large bust occurred and the market heavily declined as all those that had specialized in pelts had to turn elsewhere to make a profit (Swartz). The nature of the boom and bust cycle makes it very difficult for a periphery country with limited types of raw materials to advance into the semi-periphery for a substantial period of