Announcement of World Bank Issues Economic Report on Ecuador on November 26, 1973

R ClE\/ 1 81 8 H STR EE1, N .W., WASHINGTON D. C. 204331 TELEPHONE: EXEJ;;JT!VE: 3-6360 November 26, 1973 WORLD BANK ISSUES ECOOOMIC REPORT ON ECUADOR ¥.ajor opportunities for and obstacles to economic development in Ecuador are the subject of a new report by the World Bank published with the agreement of the Govenunent of Ecuador.* This study of Ecuador's prospects examines a swiftly growing economy, with rising exports, rapid population growth and considerable development potential. Balanced against this evaluation is a detailed study of Ecuador's • economic problems -- a slow rate of growth in agri~ultural output, low labor p1.uuuciiv-ity in manufacturing, and the sheer size of its needs to expand educational facilities. The report's authors suggest that Ecuador, if it can reform its public finance system, has considerable chances of maintain- ing its growth rate and of gaining a greater degree of economic independence and self-sufficiency. All aspects of these issues are well documented by the report. The authors also throw considerable light on the problems of other nations which seek paths to self-development. * Roberto Echeverria et al., Current Economic Position a..nd Prospects of Ecuador. Washington, D.C.: International Banlc for h.,..construction and Development, 1973. Printed from typewritten pages. Softcover, 448 pp., 2 maps, statistical appendix, 4 annexes. Copies available at $3.00 each fI·om Publications Office, World Bank, 1818 H Street, N. W., Washington, • n.c., 20433, U.S.A., or from the World Bank's European Office, 66 Avenue d'Iena, 75116 Paris, France~ /more  • - 2 - The report is based on the findings of an economic mission which visited Ecuador during March and April 1972 and subsequent staff visits and discussions with Government authorities. The petroleum prospects reflect the situation as. of February 1973. The report on Ecuador is the third in a new series of Country Economic Reports issued. by the World ·sank Group. The reports are .offered so as to make some results of internal research widely available to develop- ment practitioners and scholars. Other reports in the series are: Economic Growth of Colombia -- Problems and Prospects, published for the Bank by The Johns Hopkins University Press, and Employment in Trinidad and Tobago, published by the Bank i.n March 1973. The report on Colombia may be ordered directly from The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, U.S.A., at $15 per copy, clothbo~d, and $8.50, paper; the report on Trinidad and Tobago is available without charge from the Bank upon request. • A report on the economic position and prospects of Peru is forth- coming. - 0 - •