Introduction: The Reasons for This Study

Abstract

One of the most important developments of the post-World War Il period has been the increasing economic interdependence among the nations comprising the international system. From the early 1950s to the early 1970s, world trade grew faster than gross world product. This difference was particularly marked during the period from 1963 to 1970, when world trade increased by 50 percent while gross world product rose by only 44 percent, and from 1970 to 1973, when the rate of growth of world trade was 44 percent and that of gross world product was 33 percent. The United States, too, has experienced an increasing dependence on the world economy: U.S. imports and exports of goods and services totaled only 10.2 percent of gross national product (GNP) in 1965 but rose to 15 percent in 1973 and to 19.1 percent in 1977. In certain commodities, the increase has been even greater: U.S. petroleum imports were only 21.4 percent of U.S. petroleum consumption in 1965 but amounted to 48 percent in 1977.