take-off point

A Dictionary of Sociology
© A Dictionary of Sociology 1998, originally published by Oxford University Press 1998.

take-off point An idea derived from the American economic historian Walt W. Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth (1953). Rostow postulated five such stages: traditional society; preconditions for take-off; take-off to maturity; drive to maturity; and maturity. In this way he claimed to identify a recognizable stage in a country's history, lasting perhaps 20–30 years, during which the conditions required for sustained and fairly rapid economic growth are consolidated, and beyond which growth is more or less assured. The theory assumes that levels of capital investment are crucial to initiating economic growth. Rostow applied this schema to the problems of the then developing countries; and (indirectly) influenced and justified American foreign and overseas-aid policies towards the Third World.

Although the concept of a take-off to self-sustaining economic growth has been influential, Rostow's argument was subsequently the object of a sustained critique by dependency theorists in sociology, most notably in a famous and much-reproduced article by Andre Gunder Frank (‘Sociology of Development and Underdevelopment of Sociology’, 1967)
which castigates Rostow (among others) for ignoring the history of imperialism and neo-colonialism. The theory is now widely discredited but the idea of a take-off point remains part of the language of economic development.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"take-off point." A Dictionary of Sociology. . Encyclopedia.com. 10 Dec. 2018 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"take-off point." A Dictionary of Sociology. . Encyclopedia.com. (December 10, 2018). https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/take-point

"take-off point." A Dictionary of Sociology. . Retrieved December 10, 2018 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/take-point

Learn more about citation styles

Citation styles

Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA).

Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list.

Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:

Notes:

Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates.
In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list.