The_Open_Door_deel1

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structural changes and the development of the Liberian economy.
The information presented in a 1975 publication of the Ministry
of Planning and Economic Affairs, for example, is in no way reconcilable
with the information presented four years later by the
same Ministry (15). Consequently, reliable information concerning
the development of. Liberia's G.D.P. during the 1970's, in 1971
constant prices, is limited to the 1973 - 1978 period. The same
applies to a time series showing G.D.P. at current prices. The
foregoing clearly illustrates the (in)competence of the actual
Liberian planning structures. It goes without sayingj therefore,
that it is highly necessary to reinforce these institutions and
to improve the collection, analysis and presentation of basic
date which make an in-depth analysis of the National Accounts a
serious undertaking.
Fifthly, it should be remembered that (official) data lack accuracy
because of manipulations by foreign investors: (i) Firestone's
pricing system affects the reported value of almost the
entire Liberian rubber output, (ii) the illegal mining of precious
metals and minerals (gold and diamonds) and the smuggling
of diamonds result in useless official production figures, (iii)
the inter company sales of iron ore by the iron ore concessionaires
negatively affect the (reported) value of their sales/exports,
and (iv) the corrupt and illegal practices within the logging
and timber sector result in an underestimation of the value
of the production in this sector.
The Liberian economy roughly comprises three categories: (a) the
traditional, subsistence, sector which embraces between 70 and
75 percent of the total population, or some 1.2 million people?
(b) the export-oriented enclave (concession) sector, notably the
mining companies, the rubber plantations, and, to a lesser extent,
the logging companies; (c) the domestic-oriented sector in which
the Liberian Government is by far the most important employer.
The following section will focus on the Gross Domestic Product
(at factor cost) of the monetary economy. It primarily serves the
purpose of illustrating the. foregoing. Thus, the presentation of
total value of G.D.P. and its sectoral origin during the years
1973 - 1979 is neither intended nor likely to show an accurate
calculation of the composition of the the G.D.P. or its aggregate
value.
G.D..P. at factor cost (current prices) rose from $ 375.2 million
in 1973 to $ 750 million in 1979 (preliminary figure for 1979)-
Although G.D.P. at current prices doubled in this seven year period,
G.D.P. at constant 1971 prices hardly changed. Between 1973
and 1979 there was only a 12 percent increase from $343.4 million
to | 386.0 million respectively. This results in an average yearly
growth rate of a little over 1 percent during these years.
The value of the production at current prices has been corrected
by the price index of the particular item involved in order to
arrive at the production volume at constant 1971 prices. Whereas
the figures thus obtained do give some insight into the development
of the production volume they fail to explain the changes