André Gunder Frank was a German-American sociologist and economist, known for his contributions to the field of development studies. Born in 1929, he became a prominent figure in the dependency theory, which critiques traditional economic development models by emphasizing the historical exploitation of poorer nations by wealthier ones. Frank's influential work, particularly his book "Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America," argued that underdevelopment is not a stage of development but a result of global economic structures. He also contributed to the world-systems theory, which analyzes the world economy as a complex system of interrelated parts, highlighting the inequalities between core and peripheral nations.