Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990–2015

•Rich countries rely on a large net appropriation of resources from the global South.•Drain from the South is worth over $10 trillion per year, in Northern prices.•The South’s losses outstrip their aid receipts by a factor of 30.•Unequal exchange is a major driver of underdevelopment and global inequality.•The impact of excess resource consumption in the North is offshored to the South.