ABSTRACT
The contrasting views of growth pole and dependency theorists and of those analysts proposing selected alternative strategies of development have been presented in terms of three critical issues: domination, linkages, and distribution. This chapter provides a critical review of the relevance and usefulness of the concept of growth pole for regional economic analyses and planning. The issue of domination pervades both the literature on growth poles and that on dependency. Linkages are interpreted in many different ways in the development literature. The most frequent interpretation is in terms of interindustrial linkages, as shown through input-output tables, but reference is also made to interregional and international linkages. Growth pole and dependency theorists have been shown above to have opposing viewpoints on the benefits and disadvantages of large, propulsive, dominant firms and of the international, interregional, and interindustrial linkages created by these firms.
