Handbook of Caribbean Economies

Robert E. Looney is a Distinguished Professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School, California. He specializes in issues relating to economic intelligence and economic development in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Professor Looney has published 22 books and is the editor of the Routledge Europa Emerging Economies series.

‘The Caribbean in public, and often academic, discourse is considered as a single space facing a uniform set of circumstances. But this does the region a great injustice, and that is why the edited volume is so timely and essential. It offers a nuanced account of the internal and external threats, challenges, but also opportunities, facing the Caribbean two decades into the 21st Century. The key issues are evaluated by a distinguished set of authors. Balanced insights are offered, but crucially an attempt is made to advance new thinking and positive solutions. What is particularly welcome are the individual country studies, which occupy the latter half of the volume. A truly pan-Caribbean approach is taken that illustrates conclusively the region’s rich diversity, from Guyana with its new oil wealth to the continuing tragedy of Haiti, and from the small UK Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands to Guadeloupe and Martinique, outermost regions of the EU. All-in-all a nicely conceived and instructive volume.’ Peter Clegg, University of the West of England.‘The Handbook of Caribbean Economies is an on-the-minute reference work that is vital for anyone with a professional interest in the region. But it is much more than that, offering comprehensive policy-oriented analyses of problems ranging from climate change to excessive external debt to lack of diversification that explain why current growth rates are generally sub-par in the Caribbean and why future prospects are so challenging.’ Peter Passell, Editor-in-Chief, Milken Institute Review.`In this erudite and informative volume, some of the Caribbean’s leading specialists provide a panoramic view of the region’s political economy. Their sophisticated analyses examine the obstacles and external influences with which Caribbean economies must contend. The contributors underscore the region’s deep crisis: the rocky transition from plantation economies based on sugar to economies based mostly on tourism. The EU’s decision to end preferential treatment of the Caribbean shook the region, but so have climate change, natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and the manmade calamities of drug trafficking and organized crime. Haiti’s economy has been especially hard hit, Puerto Rico went bankrupt, and Cuba still hasn’t recovered from the breakup of the Soviet Union. Guyana, with its new offshore oil discoveries, and the Dominican Republic, with its creditable economic performance, shine brightly in an otherwise depressing regional tableau. The islands’ attempt to find their niche in the world economy remains a work in progress.' Jorge Heine, Foreign Affairs.

• 1. IntroductionRobert E. LooneyPart I Commonalities2. An Alternative Policy Approach to Growth and Stabilization in Small Open Economies DeLisle Worrell3. Impacts of Climate Change on Caribbean Economies Masao I. Ashtine4. Caribbean Energy Security: Regional Profile and Challenges to IntegrationDavid Goldwyn and Cory Gill5. The Caribbean Holds Its Own in Global Tourism CompetitionDeLisle Worrell6. CARICOM and that Vexing Issue of Size and ViabilityPatsy LewisPart II Obstacles to Sustained Progress7. Debt and Fiscal ConstraintsLester Henry8. Crime, Violence, and Drugs in the CaribbeanSherill V. C. Morris-Francis 9. It’s Complicated: The Caribbean’s Relationship to White-Collar CrimeKristina Hinds10. Caribbean Natural Disasters and Country/Regional ResponsesRobert E. Looney11. Why and How to Use Fiscal Policy to Target the Exchange RateDeLisle WorrellPart III External Influences12. Venezuela: The Descent into a ‘Soft State’Anthony P. Maingot13. The External Economic Relations of the Caribbean: The United States and Europe Union ComparedGinelle Greene-Dewasmes and Tony Heron14. China’s Increasing Influence in Central America and the CaribbeanRichard L. Bernal 15. Regional Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean: New Challenges and Agendas Cintia Quiliconi and Renato Rivera RhonPart IV Country Case Studies16. The Puerto Rican EconomyBrad Setser and Sergio Marxuach17. Haiti Wenche Iren Hauge18. The Cuban Economy: Socialist Stagnation with Caribbean Characteristics Richard E. Feinberg19. Trinidad and TobagoLester Henry20. BelizeVictor Bulmer-Thomas21. Guyana and the Advent of World-class Petroleum FindsClive Y. Thomas22. Development and Underperformance in the Barbados Economy, 1946-2018DeLisle Worrell23. SurinameScott B. MacDonald24. The Bahamas: Facing a Period of Climate Change and Slow GrowthRobert E. Looney 25. The Cayman IslandsScott B. MacDonald26. Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean Basin: A Comparative Analysis of Models and TrajectoriesAlain Maurin and Patrick Kent Watson 27. The Dominican RepublicSusan Pozo and Antonio María Giraldi28. The Jamaican Economy: A Caribbean Success Story at Last?Keith Collister and Robert E. Looney29. The Dutch CaribbeanScott B. MacDonald