CHANGES IN THE ENERGY ECONOMY OF THAILAND, HONG KONG AND SOUTH KOREA, 1961-1975 AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

This study analyses the changes in the energy economy of three Asian LDCs during 1961-1975 in an attempt to see how energy consumption changed in relation to rapid economic development and vast structural changes in the economy. This paves the way for the analysis of the impact of the oil crisis of 1973-1974 on their economies with an eye to ascertaining whether the effect was as disastrous as claimed by so many writers. A final chapter extends the analysis to cover the other LDCs as a group, treating them in roughly the same fashion as the country studies.; The method of study is essentially descriptive and analytical, with some application of basic mathematical techniques. Principal statistical sources are obtained from U.N. and national publications with updating by referring to journals and newspapers.; The analysis shows that the three selected countries experienced extremely rapid growth in energy consumption, electricity demand and national output during the period under study, with increasing electrification and a rising dependence upon oil for their energy supply. Their energy elasticity during the first half of the 1970s declined vis-a-vis that of the 1960s. They all weathered the financial storm stirred up by the oil crisis fairly successfully, with chances for future economic development only slightly marred by rising energy prices.; The other LDCs also experienced a decline in their energy elasticities in the 1970s, and muddled through the oil crisis relatively unscathed. There are reasons to believe that the oil price explosion hurt the DCs more than the LDCs. Given the small proportion of world energy consumed by the LDCs now, even though their future growth of energy demand is projected to surpass that of the DCs, their growing demand is not expected to exert any appreciable pressure on energy prices within the balance of this century, which, as in the past, will be mainly determined by demand from the DCs. Conceding that a rising energy price will render economic development in the LDCs more difficult, this study finds that the latter are far from condemned to perpetual poverty because of the oil price rise.