Desarrollo energético en América Latina y la economía mundial

THE ENERGY SECTOR IN DEVELOPING AND INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES* Joy Dunkerley Senior Research Associate, Resources for the Future, Washington, De As this is an International Conference, it is appropriate to consider possibilities of international cooperation in the energy field. Many observers of developing countries appear to consider that the energy problems racing LDCs, especialIy since 1974, are essentially different from those facing the developing countries. The implications of this view are important. If the energy problems of developing countries are indeed unique, then unique soIutions must be found for them. If, on the other hand, the energy problems of both developing and industrialized countries are shown to have much in common, then it may be possible to seek common solutions for at least sorne of them. 1 should like therefore to describe briefly the energy economies of representative countries in both developing areas and the industria. lized world in order to identify points of similarity and difference. DISPARlTIES IN PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION A major difference between developing and industrialized countries -a point much referred to- is the difference in the levels of energy consumption between the two groups (see tabIe 1) . Per capita energy consumption (including both commercial energy such as oil and electricity and non-commerciaI such as wood) is ten times higher (at 4.2 tons oH equivalent per capita) in industrialized countries than in deveIoping countries (about 0.48 toe) 1. Within the developing world, there ís a considerable variation. The Far East consumes (at 0.32 toe) about one-third of the amount used in Latin America. Afrí- ·The author gratefully acknowledges research support for this paper provided by The Ford Foundation. The analysis and views expressed in the paper are, however, the responsibílity of the author alone. 'j. Parikh, Energy and Development (WorId Bank, PUN 43 1977). This study gives estimates of non·commercial fuel consumption including agricultural wastes derived from data on cereal production and assumption about the amount of residues obtained from that production and the ratio of gathering these residues. 18