§ Mr. Alan Williamsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, for planning purposes, is currently assumed by the Government to be Great Britain's marginal propensity to import; and how this figure compares with that for the European Economic Community and the European Free Trade Association countries.
§ Mr. HigginsNo single estimate would be meaningful. Different types of spend-174W ing have a varied impact on our demand for imports. Moreover, even within any single category of demand, the import component will vary over time. Much will depend, for example, on the availability and competitiveness of United Kingdom supplies. The same problems apply to calculations of the import propensities of the individual countries of the European Economic Community and the European Free Trade Association.