Caribbean blah blah blah...

8. When governments are carrying out policies for improvement of socio-economic circumstances, and external distresses have become a norm, decreasing aid flows and the shift from conventional agriculture create a severe economic difficulty.
9. It can’t be denied that first world countries fight for liberty of markets while hesitant to remove their own agricultural grants or their cruel limits on freedom of labour. At the same time however, it is hard to deny that Caribbean countries haven’t utilized the long duration of favoured market access to increase productivity in the agricultural sector.
10. We are mainly responsible for production and export of sugar in Guyana and Belize being significantly greater than that of the higher cost free market exporters. With bananas as well, Caribbean countries are the highest cost producers internationally.
11. In the near future, some Caribbean exporters will be able to export profitably.
12. The Caribbean’s trial is rapid development of high productivity sectors to push the regional development thrust. The Caribbean’s agricultural sector will have difficulty in being globally competitive in the same way as sugar and bananas were affected.
13. An effort must be made to better productivity. Overlooking the difficulty of measuring productivity, several Caribbean economic estimations show increases in productivity during the 1980s, accompanied by a sharp decrease in the 1990s; a reason for the decrease being the lower productivity of both public and private investments.
14. A second reason for of productivity may be migration. While migration may act as a safety valve for sudden high unemployment rates and add greatly to the economy, in opposition of these benefits, Caribbean migration is also reflected as a brain drain, which resulted in a poor skills base and capacity of regional economics. The excessive emigration of the skilled labour force weakens the labour force, lessens productivity, and the educational resources and training invested in the individual are not utilised by the region.
15. The third reason for decrease in productivity is the need to deal with chronic fiscal imbalances. For Caribbean countries, imbalances in self- sustaining growth and development have created hindrances such as an accumulation of public debt to unsustainable levels.
16. Generally, while public debts to GDP ratios of 50 to 60% of GDP are considered high, six Caribbean countries have ratios between 95 and 160%, including Guyana, which is one of the highest indebted countries internationally.

17. High public debt affects growth since resources allocated to other sectors have to be redirected to debt servicing. Highly indebted countries can either restructure or generate high primary surpluses.


18. CSME is viewed as an important factor in any strategies involving the development of Caribbean economies. The present integration model is described as one of open regionalism, which the private sector is expected to lead. CSME covers inter alia, freedom of trade in goods and services, free movement of labour and capital, a regional strategic sectoral plan, the adoption of a harmonized investment code and the development of a regional capital market.
19. The integration model aims to deal with restraints that resulted in economic under-achievement during the past thirty years. It cannot be argued that, more integration within the CARICOM area could assist in competitiveness. For example:

•freedom of regional trade should lead to reduction in cost of input and hence assist rationalization of production
• labour mobility within the region has the potential to improve skill
and wage arbitrage;
• co-ordinated investment promotion could make the region more
attractive for foreign investment and reduce the fiscal cost attached
to expensive and sometimes wasteful tax concessions; and
• regional planning could facilitate the exploitation of production
integration opportunities, through clusters of economic activities.
• The CSME model also presents opportunities for joint marketing in
extra-regional markets, joint research and development, and joint
purchasing arrangements.
Also the implementation of several critical provisions of the CSME has lagged.