Although modernization theory and dependency/ the world system theory have claimed an extensive generalizability for developmental studies, inconsistent findings and conclusions about the dynamics of economic development have emerged in the literature. These are, in part, due to the adoption of different theoretical assumptions and different foci of study, the use of different data sets for different parts of the world, and the use of different analytical techniques. The theoretical and methodological differences among these studies have hampered the development of a general theory of national economic development. Based on the inconsistencies of existing theories and previous comparative research on development, the goal of this study is to construct a critical test of the major hypotheses of the competing theories of economic development and to analyze regional dynamics during the 1980s.