The Economic Impact of Caribbean Regional Integration: National Policy and Intra-Regional Performance Differences

• Author: Alvin G. Wint
• Pages: 135-149

The Economic Impact of Caribbean Regional Integration 135

INTRODUCTION1

For over three decades, regional economic integration has been viewed

as one of the principal mechanisms through which the small economies of

the Caribbean could improve their development prospects. It is against this

background that CARIFTA, and its progeny, CARICOM, were formed to

integrate, initially, the Anglophone Caribbean. It is also why the Organisation

of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) was formed, within CARICOM, to provide

even greater integration of the islands of the Eastern Caribbean.

As CARICOM celebrates its 30th anniversary there is still considerable

optimism, in academic and political circles, associated with the role of

regional economic integration in Caribbean development, even though at

least two of the largest Caribbean economies, Jamaica and Guyana, have

not appeared to benefit significantly from the previous three decades of

Caribbean economic integration.

Yet other Caribbean economies have benefited from integration. Indeed,

the intra-regional differences in economic performance within the

Caribbean region are striking. In particular, the economies of the region

considered ‘Most Developed’ at CARICOM’s formation, Jamaica, Guyana,

Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, have not, uniformly, lived up to the

expectations reflected in their regional designations.

This paper seeks to examine the impact of regional economic integration

on economic performance within the Caribbean region and to identify the

factors that appear to be responsible for the striking differences in intra-

regional economic performance across the Caribbean.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TRADE-RELATED

CARIBBEAN INTEGRATION

The two forms of Caribbean regional integration, CARICOM and the

OECS, have had different objectives. Regional economic integration within

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CARIBBEANTHE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CARIBBEAN

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CARIBBEANTHE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CARIBBEAN

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CARIBBEAN

REGIONAL INTEGRATION: NATIONALREGIONAL INTEGRATION: NATIONAL

REGIONAL INTEGRATION: NATIONALREGIONAL INTEGRATION: NATIONAL

REGIONAL INTEGRATION: NATIONAL

POLICY AND INTRA-REGIONALPOLICY AND INTRA-REGIONAL

POLICY AND INTRA-REGIONALPOLICY AND INTRA-REGIONAL

POLICY AND INTRA-REGIONAL

PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCESPERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES

PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCESPERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES

PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES

Alvin G. Wint

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