Greece - Third Education Project
PINERA, S. | SELOWSKY, M.
Since the early 1950's the economies of the five Central American countries have grown at a rapid rate. Despite a recession due to export difficulties in 1958-1961, overall the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the last decade has averaged 5-6 percent per annum, well above the 3.3 percent annual increase in population. The major impulse to growth was in exports of traditional commodities - first bananas and coffee, and beginning in the latter 1950's, cotton. The Central American countries are open economies, and variations in exports (which have constituted 18-22 percent of GDP in the last decade) have markedly influenced investment, imports and national output. Hindered by the small domestic markets and low per capita incomes, the countries sought to provide a wider basis for internal economic expansion by elimination of trade restrictions; their efforts over many years resulted in a treaty in 1960 (which came into effect from 1961 to 1963 as the several countries ratified it) which freed trade from tariffs or other restrictions on all but a small portion of the items and volume of trade. A common tariff on these freed items was also established, and machinery for administration of the Common Market arrangements was established, including an Economic Council of Ministers and a secretariat. A clearing house for payments between the countries was established, and with a system for settlement of balances with only very small margin of credit; and directions was given to a monetary council to prepare studies aiming at eventual establishment of a monetary union.
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