FACTORS THAT PROMOTE OR HINDER DEVELOPMENT
GENDER INEQUALITY
This is the imbalance in treatment and quality of life of women and men. After 1995, indicators such as the Gender
Inequality Index (GII) sought to reflect the place of women in the labour force, their empowerment in political life and
reproductive health. Like the GINI coefficient, it varies between 0 and 1. It has been demonstrated many times that
improvement in the conditions and status of women benefit the whole family. Empowerment of women allows them to
make an equally rewarded contribution to the labour force and to take charge of their reproductive health. This is
especially true in the Caribbean where the majority of households are headed by women.
Unfair discrimination other than by merit hinders development. A person must not be discriminated against because of
colour, religion, sex, status or creed. Where such discrimination exists, there will be disharmony, leading to low levels of
production, since the persons discriminated against will be hurt, angry, uncooperative, demotivated and low in
productivity
Interesting fact – an estimated one in three Caribbean women will experience violence in a personal relationship in their
lifetime
ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT
1. Levels of infrastructure
2. Levels of investment
3. Social indicators
4. Economic indicators
5. Sustainability
6. Per capita income
7. Employment
8. Productivity
The productive sector refers to the economy of a country, and the production of goods and services contribute to or
hinder development. The productive sector can be classified into primary or extractive industries, secondary or
manufacturing industries and tertiary or industries of service. Some of the factors which impact on the productive sector
of the Caribbean are:
1. Competitiveness
2. Demand
3. Productivity
4. Infrastructure
5. Investment climate
6. Debt
7. External shocks
8. Technology
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POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES AND POPULAR MOVEMENTS
An ideology is a set of ideas about the worlds and how it should function, particularly according to some perceived ideal.
A popular movement is a large, loosely structure group agitating for a common goal. Ideologies are belief systems which
provide clear guides to the organization of political, economic and social life. Ideologies are usually based on very clear
ideas about human nature, the purpose of life and the relationship between mankind and the physical and supernatural.
Communism, socialism and capitalism are all ideologies. They all have clear and contrasting ideas about how resources
should be owned and how production, trade and exchange are to be organized. In addition, they have clear notions as to
how society is to be governed.
1. COMMUNISM - a political theory derived from Karl Marx relating to a social organization based on the holding
of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. All
economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating
political party.
2. SOCIALISM – a political term applied to an economic system in which property is held in common but not
individually, and relationships are governed by a political hierarchy. Common ownership doesn’t mean decisions
are made collectively. Instead individuals in positions of authority make decisions in the name of the collective
group.
3. CAPITALISM - a social and economic system based on the private ownership of capital goods and the means of
production, with the creation of goods and services for profit. This is the dominant political ideology in the
Caribbean. It emphasises market – led development, also known as free enterprise.
The Caribbean offers experiences of a range of ideologies. Cuba in 1959 took the socialist option and has survived until
today. Grenada took the socialist option and that did not last. Jamaica took the socialist option and retreated. Guyana
took up a variant of socialism and suffered. The other countries of the Caribbean remained with the conservative and
approved options but even the wealthier countries in the region, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica,
ended up indebted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the latter part of the 20th century.
From the 1950’s to the late 1970’s, many Caribbean governments made attempts to control the ‘commanding heights of
the economy’. Most of these economies were mixed with a strong state sector and a weaker private sector.
Governments saw themselves as the prime movers with the responsibility to produce employment and a better
standard of living for all. Not only were governments seen as managers of the economy, but also owners of enterprises.
Large state sectors developed in countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. During the independence era,
emphasis was only on increasing economic growth and not on the reduction of poverty. Some Caribbean thinkers began
to consider ways to reduce poverty and raise the quality of life of people.
DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH AND RESOURCES
Caribbean societies are characterized by high degrees of inequality in the ownership of wealth and income. High degrees
of inequality mean that not everyone would have access to the opportunities and resources necessary for an adequate
standard of living. Additionally, some of the human resource potential of a country may be wasted when such talents,
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skills and labour may not be available to contribute to the productive potential of society. Some instances of inequality
that exist in the Caribbean are:
1. High levels of poverty (which contrasts with extreme luxury in some instances)
2. High levels of unemployment
3. Marginalized groups within society
4. Poor public health care system
5. Squatting communities
6. Urban ghettos adjacent to luxury townhouses
WELFARE
Government policy towards welfare seeks to lift the economically vulnerable out of income deprivation by offering
access to basic needs. This approach is considered by the International Labour Organization (ILO – 1972) as the Basic
Needs Agenda in Poverty Eradication. This philosophy argues that if individuals get access to food and housing, their
wellbeing or life choices improve. Therefore, to assist in housing assess, the Housing Development Corporation
(HDC) provides homes at a subsidised rate to low income earners while the Land Settlement Agency (LSA)
encourages squatter regularization (Certificate of Comfort). Moreover, the T&T Food Card, coupled with social
welfare cheques are granted to families if they fall below a certain income level. Another strategy in offering these
forms of welfare involves prioritizing the disabled, matrifocal families and the elderly (old age pension). World Bank
(2010) statistics have reflected that poverty has been linked to matrifocality. Social welfare is mainly concerned with
lifting people out of a vulnerable situation and not necessarily poverty but they may be AT RISK to poverty. Basic
needs must be considered when implementing welfare policies. Employed persons may still experience poverty or
may be at risk to poverty. This Basic Needs Agenda, as promoted by the ILO, is successful TO AN EXTENT, as welfare
is given to satisfy basic needs and not necessarily to eradicate the problem of poverty. It must be especially noted
that the T&T government has prioritized temporary job relief as a medium of poverty eradication reflected in the
URP and CEPEP initiatives. These programs are aligned to the Ministry of Social Development, conceding that there
are welfare programs aimed at eradicating poverty through providing jobs. Social welfare policies of most CARICOM
governments are in a state of flux between the basic needs approach (relief) and the human capabilities approach of
Amarthya Sen (long term empowerment).
CHANGING CLASS BOUNDARIES
Social mobility refers to a person’s ability to improve his social standing and standard of living regardless of his family,
ethnicity or conditions of birth. This is very prevalent in the Caribbean and is very healthy for a society as it destroys
class boundaries. Class boundaries can prove detrimental to development in the Caribbean as it restricts the potential
talents, skills and resources that can be used in the productive sector, particularly where occupants are associated with
such strict class segregation.
Situations have occurred in which groups of individuals may improve their socio-economic status or class. Since the
1970’s with a modernized economy that matured and diversified, varying job prospects resulted in upward class mobility
for individuals who were from traditional working class families. The emergence of a middle class is a defined post-
colonial experience which becomes a driving force to economic development. This middle class provides a consumer
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base for the purchase of goods and services while offering the productive sector innovative labour capacities. This
middle class is envisioned by high human development index nations to be the base of a “knowledge economy.” This
group is expected to use its modern knowledge to enhance a nation’s competitiveness.
ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE AND ACTIVITY
Many countries try to encourage this as a means of promoting economic development and fostering the growth of
industry. This should translate to more employment and would trickle down to an improved standard of living in the
country. Barbados has its Youth Entrepreneurial Scheme to provide seed money for young self-employed innovators,
while Trinidad and Tobago gives tax concessions to companies with Approved Small Business Status. But the education
system lags behind such schemes in not fostering early ambition to be self-employed risk takers. When asked, most
Caribbean students state a desire to work in one of the professions. Very few aim to be self-employed.
NATURAL AND HUMAN MADE DISASTERS
The Caribbean is susceptible to a variety of extreme natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, as well
as human made disasters such as chemical spills and oil drilling disasters. However, the impact and recovery from
disaster varies from country to country. Haiti is still to recover even the former low levels of development that it had
attained before the severe earthquake of January 2010, which killed 250,000 people and left millions homeless. Years
later, it is still grappling with tent cities, a rapidly spreading cholera epidemic and rioting in the streets as presidential
candidates declare election results null and void and refuse to respect the results. Hurricane Ivan devastated Grenada
with less loss of life but serious loss of property but by 2011, they had rebuilt both the housing and the economy with
the help of international aid.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
State initiatives prioritize free health care and formal education. Free health care is facilitated via access to general
hospitals and community health centres. With immunization made compulsory through hospitals and the primary school
system, CARICOM governments health care satisfy basic requirements only. Health surcharge is taken out of civilians
salaries monthly to supplement these initiatives.
Education policies are more favourable than health in terms of government expenditure, with the government
prioritizing universal secondary education and also targeting an increase in a tertiary-graduate workforce, expecting to
reach 17% of the national workforce by 2020. The government has also invested in science and technology programs
targeting vocational schools like the Metal Industries Company (MIC) or National Employee Training (NET) as well as
Poly-Technical Institutes like the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).
USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Technological factors relate to the use of mechanical and electronic instruments and equipment to solve practical
problems of production. The influence of technology has always been closely tied to productivity. That influence became
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revolutionary during the latter years of the 20th century and is still stimulating change, with the potential for increased
productivity to new and amazing levels.
The benefits of science applied to productivity problems can be great, yet there can be significant drawbacks. One of the
problems arising from the technological process is the fall in demand for traditional goods. Scientific advances have
promoted the development of synthetic substitutes for natural products e.g. in 1970, the consumption of natural rubber
was 2.2 million tonnes – less than half of the consumption of synthetic rubber – 4.6 million tonnes.
The Caribbean has suffered from a fall in demand for its primary products such as sugar and bananas. Other countries
have been able to use advanced technology through efficient machinery to increase their productivity. As a
consequence, there has been a fall in demand for Caribbean bananas and sugar due to lower prices and better quality
goods offered by Central American countries. This may be due not only to price concern but the growing popularity of
sugar substitutes such as aspartame (a chemical sweetener found in Splenda and diet drinks) and more recenty, stevia
and monk fruit, said to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. Had there not been a Lomé Agreement (a convention signed
originally in 1975 to establish trade and aid agreements between Europe and 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific
countries) to purchase ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) products under preferential agreement, these countries would
not have been able to sell their bananas or sugar in Europe.
Technological progress has allowed a variety of low-priced consumer products to flood local markets. These have
competed effectively with local products forcing many out of business e.g. local ice cream, snacks and candies.
Technological advance has meant an abundance of new goods, with a corresponding decrease in demand for traditional
goods, thereby adversely affecting primary producers of raw materials.
Consequently, Caribbean countries experience a serious fall in the sale of primary products, trade deficits set in; balance
of payment problems arise; inflation increases due to the demand for foreign exchange; unemployment rises and there
is an overall drop in the standard of living, while falling GNP results in reduced economic growth (all classic symbols of
lack of proper development).
On the positive side, no country can survive the competitive global market unless there is emphasis on technology. The
future is about science leading the way of progress. Only by more use of technology will efficiency improve, and profit
margins will rise. Technology allows for increased knowledge as to how things are to be done. It can be used to enhance
how organizations function, increasing training and creating a more efficient and motivated workforce.
QUALITY AND RELEVANCE OF EDUATION
This refers to effectively preparing young people for productive roles in society, beyond simple school enrolment and
literacy indicators. Some Caribbean countries have very high literacy rates (Barbados -99.7%; Cuba – 99.8% and Trinidad
and Tobago – 98.7%) but are still plagued with problems of unemployment and underemployment. This suggests that
the population is literate but what is being taught may not be relevant to their lives. Also, there may be intervening
social factors such as prejudices and bias against persons with undesirable addresses or the appropriate secondary or
tertiary school experience. A notably inherited colonial style education system aimed at producing an elite class has
failed to empower the masses or prepare them for a competitive labour market. Creative ideas and entrepreneurship
are not nurtured and instead a ‘conforming right answer’ is rewarded in standardized examinations. This leads to
graduates expecting to draw a salary and work for someone else in a ‘culture of dependency’.
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TOURISM
TYPES OF TOURISM
1. NATURE / ECO-TOURISM - to cater to those who want to observe plant and animal life in their natural habitat –
rainforests, bird sanctuaries, the sea bed, mangroves etc. Some Caribbean countries capitalize on this
2. SPORTS TOURISM – offers visitors the opportunity to participate in marine (diving, water skiing, swimming,
sailing, snorkelling, surfing, kayaking etc.) and land-based sporting activities (golf, cricket, tennis, mountain
biking, football etc.) This is largely confined to cricket. The region does not attract enough world class games to
depend on this type of tourism as a major revenue earner
3. CULTURAL / HERITAGE TOURISM – for those who want to experience the culture and history of the destination,
such as indigenous festivals, music, food, dances, art, language and dress. Archaeological and historical buildings
and sires, museums and monuments also form part of this form of tourism. This is not very well developed in
the Caribbean. While we may have sites of historical significance, and even declared UN Heritage Sites, these
have not been developed, conserved or marketed on a sufficient scale
4. SPECIAL EVENTS – e.g. golf tournaments, horse races, regattas or conferences; also not well developed and
somewhat sporadic
5. MUSIC FESTIVALS – e.g. jazz festivals, Reggae Sunfest; these are marketed sufficiently to be considered a steady
earner of foreign exchange
6. HEALTH TOURISM – e.g. mountain resorts with facilities to help tourist to relax and recuperate from illness;
health resort hotels and special spa facilities near mineral springs e.g. Dominica, Grenada or St. Lucia. This has
not been sufficiently developed to be considered a major attraction or earner in the Caribbean as yet
7. BUSINESS TOURISM – well developed outside of the Caribbean e.g. Geneva, Switzerland. For this to be
sufficiently exploited there must be a large infrastructure of hotels and supporting infrastructure e.g. translating
facilities. This is not well developed in the Caribbean
8. LEISURE TOURISM – this is well developed in the Caribbean with most of the countries being able to boast of
beautiful beaches
ECONOMIC IMPACT AND CONTRIBUTION OF TOURISM
1. FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS – tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner for most Commonwealth
Caribbean countries. It is used to pay for imports of goods and services and to repay international debt
2. EMPLOYMENT – tourism provides direct employment for workers in the hotel industry and tourism-related
enterprises such as restaurants and night clubs. It provides indirect employment through linkages with the
agricultural sector, transportation , construction, distribution and the general services sector
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3. GOVERNMENT REVENUE – e.g. fees (landing and departure fees; berthing fees for cruise liners); taxes added to
goods and services (VAT); taxes on businesses in the tourism industry (hotels / restaurant taxes); import duties
on items imported for the tourism industry. This revenue is used to help provide social services such as health,
sanitation, education and welfare. It is used to finance infrastructural projects e.g. road construction and airport
development
4. AGRICULTURAL SECTOR – the higher wages in the hotel sector attract workers away from the agricultural sector
and make it difficult for that sector to maintain an adequate supply of labour. Prime agricultural land is utilized
for tourism facilities (e.g. golf courses, site attractions and resort developments). This reduces the amount of
already scarce land for agricultural production. An economic linkage is forged with the agricultural sector as
farmers are able to supply some farm produce to hotels and restaurants. However, this linkage is not very strong
5. GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE – most of the region’s scarce financial resources are invested in tourism e.g. resort
areas attract a greater percentage of government expenditure than other areas. Some of this expenditure
benefits tourists only while some benefit both tourists and residents alike
6. IMPORTS - large quantities of food have to be imported to feed the tourists. This increases the country’s food
import bill
7. CONSUMER DEMAND – tourism creates a greater local demand for imported foods as residents may imitate the
consumption habits of tourists.
8. REAL ESTATE VALUES – expenditure in resort areas fuels increases in the price of real estate and this pushes it
out of the reach of average citizens e.g. the escalating price of land in St. Kitts. The increased demand for land
for tourism development also increases land prices. The rent charged for tourism accommodation influences
rent charged to local residents in residential areas.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF TOURISM TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN
1. Generate jobs – a particularly important consideration in areas plagued by unemployment and subject to unmet
economic expectations by the young
2. Provide hard currency foreign exchange with which to pay for consumer and capital imports
3. Generate taxes and other direct and indirect revenues for government, which can be used to extend
educational, health and other public services to the local population
4. Stimulate activity in the agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors of the economy that come into contact
directly or indirectly with the tourism industry
5. Foster foreign and local investment and capital formation
6. Encourage entrepreneurial activity
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CHALLENGES THAT TOURISM PRESENTS TO CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT
While tourism is considered to have significant economic benefits, there are economic costs attached to it as well, which
could hinder development. These would include:
1. Increased inflation and land values
2. Unfavourable impact on the balance of payments; Foreign investors repatriate profits and hire the local labour
force in menial positions while despoiling and restricting access to the natural environment
3. The effect on growth of having much of the labour force employed in the service industry with poor productive
prospects (too dependent on external factors to sustain development)
4. Overall, the economy of the country becomes dependent on factors outside of its control, for example recession
in sending countries, dependence on foreign airlift and so on
5. Tourism has a negative impact on scarce resources e.g. water
6. Stress on the environment is created by clearance of natural vegetation and disruption of coastal processes
7. Pollution of coastal waters and the added burden of waste disposal all take a toll on the environment
8. A single hint of a natural disaster, crime or civil unrest in the region can destroy a country’s tourism industry,
even where it is not actually involved in the instability
9. Conflicts may arise between tourists and local populations about social morals, land use and coastal access
10. Increased pressure on imports (import bill); tourism often adds to the import costs in meeting the needs of the
tourists and attractions
11. Seasonality of the tourism industry
12. Heavy infrastructure costs
13. High levels of government subsidy to tourism (through tax incentives and subsidies to airports) divests money
from other industries
CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION (CTO)
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the
Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30 countries and territories including Dutch,
English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. It was established in 1989.
The primary objective of the Caribbean Tourism Organization is to provide to and through its members the services and
information necessary for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean
people by:
providing an instrument for close collaboration in tourism among the various territories, countries and other interests
concerned;
developing and promoting regional travel and tourism programs to and within the Caribbean;
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providing members with opportunities to market their products more effectively to both the Caribbean and the
international tourism marketplaces;
assisting member countries, particularly the smaller member countries with minimal promotional budgets, to maximize
their marketing impact through the collective CTO forum;
carrying out advertising, promotions, publicity and information services calculated to focus the attention of the public
upon the Caribbean as one of the world’s outstanding tourist destinations;
providing a liaison for tourism matters between member countries;
providing a sound body of knowledge on tourism through data collection, collation and research;
creating processes and systems for disseminating and sharing tourism information;
providing advice, technical assistance and consultancy services with respect to tourism;,
Countries pay membership dues and contribute to a Regional Marketing Fund (RMF). The dues and the RMF payments
are based on a tourism arrivals formula, thus ensuring an equitable distribution of the financial obligation across the 30+
member-countries. Extra-Regional funding agencies support projects and services CTO’s income-generating activities.
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