Economic dependency through the lens of comparative capitalism. The case of Central Eastern Europe and Latin America

Abstract

The article presents a review of the most important approaches towards the notion of economic dependency – starting from its roots in the history of economic thought which is the Latin-American structural economics. The further argument falls within the research area of comparative political economy, especially the comparative capitalism. The models drawing from the theory of dependence are developed in this strand in the 21st century. Contemporary Latin America and Central & Eastern Europe are the two regions which are labeled as dependent in the literature. The aim of the article is to critically describe these analytical schemes, highlight their deficits and methodological issues which they face as well as to prepare ground for further research in which the dependent capitalism of both regions could be compared in more detail.