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The Caribbean on the Edge: an Anthology of Ideas and Writings ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge The Caribbean on the edge: an anthology of ideas and writings Winston Dookeran Washington, D.C., 2018 ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge This document was prepared by Winston Dookeran, Interregional Adviser on Caribbean Affairs, under the supervision of Ines Bustillo, Director, with the collaboration of Tamara Lorenzo, Research Intern, at the ECLAC Office in Washington, D.C. This document was facilitated by the staff of the ECLAC Office in Washington, D.C. and by collegues at the University of Toronto, Canada. The views expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organization. United Nations publication LC/WAS/TS.2018/3 Copyright © United Nations, April 2018. All rights reserved Printed at United Nations ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge In Commemoration of Seventy Years of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge Author’s note Ines Bustillo, Director of the ECLAC Office in Washington, D.C., in her gentle and persuasive manner urged me to do this book, and I owe her a loud word of gratitude for the idea and for her unstinting support. Alicia Barcena, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, has the distinction of being a global leader in the practice of development today, and it was her foresight that brought me to Washington, as I benefited enormously from her leadership, and her deep desire to place the Caribbean on a sustainable development path. For this, I am grateful. Tamara Lorenzo made an extraordinary effort in short time to assist me, and indeed was the author of the introduction which speaks to her academic acumen, and I thank her for that and for her patience and perspiration in bringing home this effort. Helvia Velloso and Daniel Perrotti of the ECLAC Office in Washington, in their own writings added to the contents, and I thank them, as well as Raquel Artecona, for all the conversations in the lunch room and in the corridors of our office. I was fortunate to share many ideas with my colleagues at the University of Toronto. Donald Ainsle, Principal of University College, encouraged me always and showed his support and humility —in an unbelievably hectic schedule— by being present at the launch of ‘Crisis and Promise…’ on which occasion the title of this book was touted. Several Faculty members shared their ideas willingly with me, Nelson Wiseman, John Kirton, Melanie Newton, Donald Kingsbury, Christina Kramer were always ‘on my side’ in this endeavour, and their academic insights were of great value, as I acknowledge their conversations. So too were Andy Knight of Alberta University, Canada and Amitav Acharya of American University in Washington D.C. The Honorable William Graham kindly introduced me to his colleagues in the world of diplomacy. Bonnie McElhinny, Principal of New College opened the doors at her college. Giovanni Di Cola, Special Adviser, Office of the Deputy Director General, ILO in Geneva sent me comments and I am indeed thankful. Charles Gargano, former United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, was gracious in sharing his experience in the Caribbean, and it was Jorge Heine, former distinguished Chilean Ambassador, who quipped to me that, ‘if it is not written, it has not happened’ for the students of the future. In that vein, Jeffrey Taylor, Dean and Professor at my alma mater, the University of Manitoba, offered to share this work with the students there, and formally invited me to do so, for which I am truly gratified and honored. I also wish to acknowledge the continuous support of Yvonne Mac Neill, Cecille Sioulis, Susan Dick and Zehra Ladak at University College, University of Toronto and Fiorella Figallo, Paola Celio, Rex Garcia-Hidalgo, and Nyanya Browne of the ECLAC Office in Washington, D.C., for all they so willingly did ‘to make this project happen’. Lastly, I am honored to devote this work to the memory of my brothers, Norman, Ivan, Clyde, Tyrone and Harold, who showed me the way of life. ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Prelude ........................................................................................................................................... ……….9 INTRODUCTION I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………12 II.The Evolution of ECLAC's School of Thought and its Influence for the Caribbean……….…………15 SECTION I: CONFRONTING THE FRAMEWORK I. Caribben Development: Setting the Framework………………………………………………………19 A. The Caribbean as an open frontier………………………………………………………………..19 B. The changing perspectives……………………………………………………………………...…20 C. The emerging framework……………………………………………………………………..…..22 D.Managing political tensions…………………………………………………………………….….27 E. Developments in Caribbean external affairs…………………………………………………..….29 II. Caribbean Policy Analysis: Shapping the Issues .............................................................................. 37 A. Political and economic imperatives……………………………………………………………….38 B. Sovereignity and imperialism…………………………………………………………………..…39 C. Buidling negotiating space………………………………………………………………………...40 D. Open regionalism and the regional state……………………………………………………...…..41 E. Post-structural adjustment…………………………………………………………………..….….41 F. Political economy……………………………………………………………………………….…42 III. Caribbean Catalogue: Recasting the Strategies ............................................................................ 44 A.Small states and global competition…………………………………………………………….…46 B. Building a knowledge-driven economy……………………………………………………….…..48 3 ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge C. Expanding the region's economic space………………………………………….……….………50 D. Adapting to the new global enviroment…………………………………………………………..53 SECTION II: THE MISSING LINK IN THINKING IV. The Politics of Development ........................................................................................................ 55 A. Politics and development ............................................................................................................. 55 B. The first wave of reforms ............................................................................................................. 57 C. The second wave of reforms……………………………………………………………………..58 D. Political economy of development: What can be learned?..............................................................59 E. A new approach to politics and development…………………………………………………….61 V. Political Economy and Strategy ....................................................................................................... 64 A. The economic debate of the century…………………………………………………………..….64 B. Is the magic of macroeconomics over? ………………………………………………………......65 C. Inclusiveness: The new economic development strategy………………………………..………..68 VI. Political Logic and Economic Logic……………………………………………………………..70 A. A strategic conversation on the missing politics in development……………………………..…70 B. Managing the economy and development…………………………………………………….….71 C. A look at tax efficiency, fiscal effectiveness and jobs……………………………….…………..72 SECTION III: PATHWAYS IN ANALYTICAL LEADERSHIP VII. The Imperative of Caribbean Convergence………………………………………………………74 A. Defining the inspirational moment……………………………………………………………….74 B. Set the architectural framework………………………………………………………………..…76 C. Convergence……………………………………………………………………………………....77 D. Critical convergence strategies for achieving Caribbean sea convergence……………………….81 E. Institutional drivers and imperatives for future action…………………………………………...83 VIII. Capturing Space in the Power of Markets………………………………………………………..86 A. Liberalization of financial services………………………………………………………….…….88 B. The monetary and financial policy agenda……………………………………………….….……90 C. The sdaptive response by small states……………………………………………………………..92 D. CARICOM and building competitiveness………………………………………………………...93 IX. The Quest for Equality and Sustainable Growth Part A: Building a knowledge economy: Issues on financing higher education……………………..96 A. Forces for change in higher education…………………………………………………………….97 B. Financing education: Some findings……………………………………………………………...99 C. Issues of political governance and the marketplace………………………………………….….103 Part B: The distribution of income in Trinidad and Tobago………………………………………..105 A. Growth rate and gross domestic product………………………………………………………...106 B. Movement of incomes………………………………………………………………………..…..108 C. Expenditure-income pattern……………………………………………………………………...115 X. Small States Diplomacy and the Liberal Order ………………………………………………...117 A. The dialectics of realpolitik in small states diplomacy………………………………………..…118 B. A challenge for 'new' thinking in Latin America and the Caribbean………………….…………118 C. Small states diplomacy in global competitiveness……………………………………………….119 4 ECLAC – Washington, D.C. The Caribbean on the Edge XI. Getting Governance and Development Right……………………………………………….…123 A. The challenge for Small states…………………………………………………………..……..123 B. Politics and development……………………………………………………………………….124 C. Political economy of development……………………………………………….………….…125 D. The agenda for the future………………………………………………………………..……..131
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