Desarrollo energético en América Latina y la economía mundial

DESARROLLO ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA LATINA y LA ECONOML<\ MUNDIAL rability to external economic changes. Until that time it is safe to assume that gross domestic output will be determined to a considerable extent by what happens to oi! prices and exports. The increase in the price of oi} increased the share of other Third World countrÍes in the OPEC countries' foreign trade transaction. In 1971, the major oil exporting countries exported about 16.3% of their total exports to Third World markets. By 1977, the ratio rose to 20.5%. On the import side, these countries were able to increase their imports from Third World countries from 10.6% in 171 to 11.4% in 1977, or from $ 1.2 billion to $ 9.8 billion respectively. This means that OPEC countries absorbed 7.7% of the exports oí developing coun– tries in 1977 compared with 2.8% in 197po. In addition to these changing trade transactions, the most important development in the pattern of relationships between the OPEC and the non.OPEC developing countries was in the field of finance.OPEC member countries have, in response to the increase in oH revenues, individually and colIectively, created nationaI regional and multila· teral funds for the purpose of channeling financial resources to other Third World countries. Such financial flows were channeled either directly to individual countries or indirectly through international organizations. There were also instances in which such flows were provided jointly with international institutions to individual coun– tries. The objectives of these financial flows were either to alleviate balance of payments adjustment problems or to provide development finance for particular projects. Such financial flows thatreached many Third World countries either dil'ectIy through OPEC's own mechanisms 01' indirectly through various international organizations like the World Bank, lMF, UNDP and lFAD, amounted to over $ 22 billion between 1974 and 1976 with concessionary assistance representing about 60% of OPEC'S total disbur· sements. As regards these financial flows from OPEC countries, three obser· vations seem to be in order. First, the magnitude of the How of funds to NODCs, is significant relative to OPEC countries GNP. Regardless of the type of financial flow used -commitments versus di.sbursements or concessional versus non-concessional- the ratio of these flows to GNP far exceeded anything that has been 'attempted by the developed countries. In 1976 alone, ~PEC members supplied 2.14% of their com· bined GNP in the form of concessional disbursements compared with SO/bid. 38

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