Essay

Discuss the view that a major challenge to the integration movement in the Caribbean is the wide disparity in levels of development among member countries of CARICOM.

Achieving integration in the Caribbean is a major challenge today whereby there is a great difference in the development levels among the various CARICOM members. Due to this, it is difficult for the countries to move forward together because not everyone is on the same level. Three factors which account for this disparity are the levels of skilled labour, the crime rate in the countries and the level of production within the CARICOM members.

The skilled labour in each CARICOM member differs. Some countries invest heavily in the education sector hence allowing citizens of the country to emerge with professional qualifications therefore equipping these individuals to contribute towards increasing the economic stability of their economy. An example is Trinidad and Tobago which invests in free education to its citizens hence there are a lot of certified individuals in their economy promoting development. However, a CARICOM member like Haiti has a low level of literacy rate in its society thus resulting in a less educated population and not being able to uplift its economy through skilled professionals, leaving it poverty stricken. Also, the very few educated ones remaining migrate so as to seek better opportunities abroad causing a brain drain. Therefore, this difference in level of skill which may result in migration and poverty for some states causes countries not to be able to work together to establish a common ground because of their disproportion in development hence hindering integration within the Caribbean.

Secondly, there is the crime rate in countries which affect progress in an economy. High levels of crime in a society tend to cause the entrepreneurs in the society to migrate because their safety can be compromised. This affects the development in such a way that businesses terminate and results in unemployment of individuals and also again a brain drain. Due to high crime rates, the tourism industry is also affected whereby fewer tourists choose to vacation in that country. Countries that depend heavily on tourism and sustain high levels of crime would be severely affected with a decline in the development of their economy. This can be seen happening to Jamaica which reportedly had the highest murder rate in 2008 and has reported a decline in the cruise ship passengers to the country.

Thirdly there are the levels of production of CARICOM countries that can account for the disparity in the development in the region. Countries that are able to produce a surplus so as to provide for exportation which can raise the GDP and hence contribute to the development will have stronger economies that those CARICOM members which engage in more importation of goods. Also countries that have high production cost will find it difficult to sell in the international market therefore not being able to reach that level of productivity as other CARICOM countries. Thus it prevents integration because some countries are not on the same level of efficiency and stability as others. An example is Belize and Guyana not being able to produce sugar at a competitive price. Statistics also state that Guyana has had balance of payment deficits.

The disparity in the levels of development in the CARICOM member states does affect the integration process of the Caribbean as shown in the factors outlined before. This prevents the Caribbean from becoming one and being able to help stabilize each other’s economy.