Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- PART I THE CARIBBEAN IN THE AGE OF FREE TRADE
- PART II THE CARIBBEAN IN THE AGE OF PREFERENCES
- PART III THE CARIBBEAN IN THE AGE OF GLOBALISATION
- 12 The Core and the Caribbean
- 13 Structural Change in the Caribbean
- 14 Import Substitution, Manufacturing Export Promotion and Regional Integration in the Caribbean
- 15 Caribbean Economic Performance
- 16 The Cuban Economy since the Revolution
- Statistical Appendix
- Notes on A Tables
- Notes on B Tables
- Notes on C Tables
- Notes on D Tables
- Bibliography
- Index
15 - Caribbean Economic Performance
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- PART I THE CARIBBEAN IN THE AGE OF FREE TRADE
- PART II THE CARIBBEAN IN THE AGE OF PREFERENCES
- PART III THE CARIBBEAN IN THE AGE OF GLOBALISATION
- 12 The Core and the Caribbean
- 13 Structural Change in the Caribbean
- 14 Import Substitution, Manufacturing Export Promotion and Regional Integration in the Caribbean
- 15 Caribbean Economic Performance
- 16 The Cuban Economy since the Revolution
- Statistical Appendix
- Notes on A Tables
- Notes on B Tables
- Notes on C Tables
- Notes on D Tables
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The period since 1960 captures very clearly the dilemmas that have faced the Caribbean since the Napoleonic Wars. The trade-offs between production, distribution and sovereignty remain as acute as ever. Meanwhile the problem of surplus labour has acquired a new dimension with the rise of open (as opposed to disguised) unemployment in so many countries. Finally, an old concern – the environment – has acquired new significance as a result of the renewed focus on sustainability.
The first section deals with production, the conventional metric for which is GDP. By any standards the Caribbean has scored high on this measure. The rates of growth may not have been spectacular, but they have exceeded population growth in all but one country (Haiti), even when GDP is expressed in constant prices. The absolute value of GDP per head now exhibits a variation among countries that is perhaps surprising for such a small region. However, the average GDP per head of the Caribbean exceeds that of all other regions or groupings except the high income countries. It would be premature to say that the problem of production has been ‘solved’, but the Caribbean has shown since 1960 that it is capable of achieving rates of growth that ensure a high regional level of GDP per head.
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- The Economic History of the Caribbean since the Napoleonic Wars , pp. 402 - 429Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012