Desarrollo energético en América Latina y la economía mundial

DESARROLLO ENERGÉTIOO EN AMÉRICA LATINA y LA ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL E:NERGY PRrCES What is the role 01 energy prices? This is a question easier to pose than to answer. The measurement oí prices, difficult enoughwithin a country, is much more complicated between countries due to the distortion caused by exchange rates referred to earlier. A previous study5 analysed comparative price índices for a group of industrialized countries and indicated that the average leve! of energy prices (including taxes) paid by consumers in W. Europe and J apan were some 80% higher than those ruling in the USo vVhere do energy prices in developing countries stand in reIatíon to energy prices in these other countries? While comprehensive data do not at present exist it is nonetheless possible to. make some rough estimates. With regard to petroIeum products it might be tenta– tively concluded that prices in LDC are probably somewhat lower than in industrialized countries but somewhat higher than in the USo For eIectricity too, prices may be about the same ·as industrialized coun– tries of Europe, but higher than the USo So far as commercial fueIs are concerned, energy prices in LDC's -abstracting from the wide rano ge in prices- are broadIy within the European range, that is, substan. tially higher than the USo What cffect does the consumption of Iarge quantities of non-commercial encrgy in LDC's have on this conclusion? Although conceptual1y difficult to measure, it is reasonable to assume that non-commercial supplies are in the mind of the. user at least clleaper than commercial, so the widespread use of these fueIs does not detract from the general conc1usion that there is little evidence that LDe energy prices are significantly higher than those in many industrialized countries. COMPOSITION OF OUTPUT FinalIy, differences in composition of economic output help explain differences in energY consumption. In the poorer countries, agricul. ture, a low energy intensive activity,. dominates. As incomes rise the % of agriculture faUs and share of the more energy intensive indus- , trial sector rises. As income rises, further heavy industry -again more energy intensive- takes the place of light industry leading to furtl),er increases in energy consumption. There is some evidence of a modi- IDarmstadter et. al., 0:/1. cit. 24