ABSTRACT
In all but the very poorest Third World countries the belief in export-led industrialization fuelled by foreign investment and technology (hereaf ter ELIFFIT) has begun to challenge the other available strategies for economic and social development. Although more traditional development strategies, such as import substitution, varying degrees of autarky, or exporting primary products persist in practice, few countries continue to believe that they offer a realistic path to devel opment. The reasons for the global hegemony of ELIFFIT are many, and the peculiar circumstances of some countries have often been as important as the universal forces nudging the Third World towards the gradual or rapid adoption of such a strategy.
