Project Publications
Social Partnerships and Development: Implications for the Caribbean
The effects of the ongoing global financial crisis have intensified the existing economic issues facing the Commonwealth Caribbean, including declining investment, productivity levels and employment opportunities for its citizens. Although the current crisis presents challenges for governments in the region, it also offers an opportunity for these countries to implement innovative solutions to contend with the short-term effects of the financial crisis, while addressing long-standing problems. A solution that has been successful in Botswana, Ireland and Barbados, is the use of social partnerships. Undertaken while these countries were facing economic and social crises, social partnership as a specific governance model allowed them to achieve levels of development and stability that other states yearn to attain.
Fostering Growth and Development in Small States through Disruptive Change: A Case Study of the Caribbean
Growth in the Caribbean region has been on a downward trajectory for two decades. The region is showing dangerous signs of sinking under the weight of excessive introspection — the real debate concerns how to enable change. The Caribbean is not globally competitive, but dependent. The cost of living is high, ratcheted up by inefficient ports, monopolistic transport markets, high fees and taxes. The appearance of “openness” in trade and finance hides protectionism. The economic framework in the Caribbean is shaped by the political structure, making it difficult for governments to alter the economic structure — where state employment tends to be high, few political parties will risk the wrath of public sector workers. Real change has not been undertaken because the current situation in the Caribbean suits the people with influence.
The Caribbean Papers: Caribbean Economic Governance Project
This publication is a compilation of summaries and abstracts of previously released and forthcoming Caribbean Papers. Summaries included cover topics such as regional transportation, the communications industry, national and regional identity, migration and social partnerships.
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): Towards a New Era for Caribbean Trade
This latest paper in the CIGI’s series on Caribbean Economic Governance examines the likely effects of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Caribbean countries and the European Union, after decades of agreements that guaranteed markets and preferential prices for Caribbean exports.
The Financial Stability Board: An Effective Fourth Pillar of Global Economic Governance?
One of the G20’s most significant institutional innovations has been the creation of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a new institution that some see as a potential fourth pillar of global economic governance alongside the IMF, World Bank and WTO. In a special report written with international partners, leading experts examine the challenges facing the FSB if it is to live up to expectations and help avert future global financial crises like the one in 2008-2009.
The Communications Industry in the Caribbean: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be a powerful enabler of growth and development. For the countries of CARIFORUM, beset by small internal markets, loss of preferential trade advantages, a downturn in demand for their traditional products and vulnerability to global economic pressures, the transformation to a knowledge-based, ICT-intensive society could assist in propelling the region toward desired levels of growth and development. However, access and affordability, lack of infrastructure, fragmented policy and regulatory frameworks and differential levels of educational attainment, among other issues, are hindering progress toward that goal. This paper distills the critical qualities and interventions required for the Caribbean to benefit from global innovations in ICTs.
Caribbean Regional Governance and the Sovereignty/Statehood Problem
The authors of a new paper on Caribbean regional governance cite the urgent need for a frank debate about sovereignty and statehood. They propose steps the region's leaders can take to design a new set of governance arrangements for CARICOM, and argue that it is only with an updated concept of sovereignty that effective institutions can be built to assist the region.
The Caribbean Papers Summaries: Released and Forthcoming
This publication is a compilation of summaries and abstracts of previously released and forthcoming Caribbean Papers. Summaries included cover topics such as regional transportation, the communications industry, national and regional identity, migration and social partnerships.
The Summitry of Small States: Towards the "Caribbean Summit"
At previous Summits of the Americas, concerns of small states have often been overshadowed by those of the hemisphere's larger powers. The Caribbean's host status at the fifth Summit emphasizes its need to find innovative and somewhat unorthodox forms of diplomatic engagement to ensure its interests are met. This policy brief discusses the ability of these small states to put key Caribbean policy issues such as regional security, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity at the top of the summit agenda.
Diasporas and Development: An Assessment of the Irish Experience for the Caribbean
Dialogue on diasporas and their role in the development of the home country has grown in the last twenty years and Caribbean states have begun to identify ways they can engage their nationals residing abroad in this process. Those in the region looking to harness the power of the diaspora have turned their attention to the example of Ireland, a country with a large diaspora that has contributed significantly to its national advancement. By highlighting the lessons of the Irish experience, this paper argues that while the Caribbean's diaspora has the desire to contribute and does help through remittances, there remain a number of challenges to this participation including perceptions of security and stability, establishing the conditions necessary for attracting investment and a lack of confidence in government institutions in the region.
