Political economy of petrodollars: oil and democracy in Venezuela (Volumes I and II)

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6467287

Karl, T L

This thesis explores the impact of changes in the international petroleum economy upon the development strategy and political process of one oil-producing nation, Venezuela. It contends that sudden great wealth, like scarcity, can be a serious development curse, leading to policy decisions that provoke economic disruption and political decay. This ''paradox of plenty'' can best be explained by the interplay of an internationally-generated crisis of wealth with the skewed socio-economic arrangements and weak states characteristic of late developers. This interaction results in management overload and a subsequent decline in the problem-solving abilities of the state, making the effective utilization of petrodollar surpluses exceedingly difficult. An investigation of the political and economic consequences of the Perez Adminsitration's attempt to build a diversified industrial structure following the quadrupling of oil prices in 1973 illustrates this central theme. President Perez' ''project'' of accelerated modernization, designed to meet the competing demands of party and business interests, led to a contradictory development model which was both populist and entrepreneurial.

• OSTI ID: 6467287
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
02 PETROLEUM
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
POLITICAL ASPECTS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
ECONOMIC IMPACT
VENEZUELA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LATIN AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
294002* - Energy Planning & Policy- Petroleum
020700 - Petroleum- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects