Dependency in a financialised global economy

Drawing on Samir Amin’s writings, this article proposes a contemporary form of dependency that manifests in the subordinate integration of developing countries into a financialised global economy. Using insights from the emergent financialisation literature, the article updates two themes in Amin’s work: imperialist rent and the role of the peripheral state in perpetuating dependency in the global economy. In contemporary capitalism, imperialist rent is not limited to labour arbitrage but also includes financial arbitrage, and the peripheral state, rather than retreating, now actively manages the financial sphere. The article advances an updated understanding of dependency in the context of financialisation.