ABSTRACT
next to the maintenance of world peace, it can reasonably be claimed that raising the standards of living of the populations of the underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America is the most important problem of our time. In this study one small but potentially important obstacle to underdeveloped countries in their attempt to satisfy their ambitions for rapid and stable growth is cut out for scrutiny. This is the problem of short-term fluctuations in their export earnings. 1 Export instability of this nature, quite apart from longer-term changes in exports, may have very damaging effects on both the internal stability and the economic growth of underdeveloped countries.
