ABSTRACT
One might expect that one of the major distinctions between different kinds of producing firms is whether they use raw materials available within the country or whether they must import materials from abroad. The scarcity of foreign currency in a country where the balance of trade has suffered from the collapse of the traditional sources of foreign income in mining and the sale of natural gas should favor industries based on materials that are locally available. Small-scale enterprises must increasingly compete with the direct export of unprocessed and semi-processed raw materials. Even when local intermediate materials are available, producers of finished goods often alternate between using them and importing such materials. Special problems arise when an industry is dependent on a government monopoly for intermediate goods. Unless individuals receive fixed wages, they are usually reluctant to divulge income figures for fear that tax authorities might obtain information, and they are often incapable of doing so because few keep written accounts.
