An assessment of big data for official statistics in the Caribbean: Challenges and opportunities

The data revolution for sustainable development has triggered interest in the use of big data for official statistics such that theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council considers it to be almost an obligation for statistical organizations to explore big data. Big data has been promoted as a more timely and cheaper alternative to traditional sources of official data, and one that offers great potential for monitoring the sustainable development goals. However, privacy concerns, technology and capacity remain significant obstacles to the use of big data. This study makes a case for incor…

The Hummingbird Vol. 2 No. 12

The Caribbean and the post-2015 development agenda

This paper will contend that the post-2015 development agenda presents a major opportunity for Caribbean countries to reverse decades of lagging economic performance and make the transition to balanced, holistic, and people-centred growth and development. The MDGs, while valuable in promoting gains in poverty reduction, health, education, nutrition, and maternal well-being were not tailored to the growth and development needs of the region. This can now be changed by a post-2015 development agenda which goes beyond improving the welfare of citizens by meeting basic needs and enhancing access t…

The Hummingbird Vol.2 No.9

Economic survey of the Caribbean 2014: Reduced downside risks and better prospects for a recovery

The current survey provides an overview of the economic performance for 2013 of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago plus the eight member states of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and the outlook for 2014 and 2015. Data were collected from a review of reports from national governments and through interviews with government officials in each of the countries analyzed.…

Towards diversification of the tourism sector: A recreational demand study of yachting and marina services in the Caribbean

Although tourism has been a major economic sector in the Car ibbean s ince the mid-1960s, the sector now faces significant challenges as competit ion intensif ies in the global tourism market. These challenges include environmental impacts, and the need for continued high levels of public investment in order to sustain the tourism product. The precariousness of the sector was made starkly evident with the onset of the global recession in 2009, when the sector recorded significant decline. Notwithstanding some limited recovery since that time, the recent experience highlighted the need for Cari…

Economic Survey of the Caribbean 2011-2012: positive growth amidst lingering downside risks

The current survey provides an overview of the economic performance for 2011 and the outlook for 2012 of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), namely Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and Montserrat. The introduction summarizes the economic performance of the Caribbean in 2011 and the growth outcomes for 2012. Section A examines the current global economic difficulties and the challenges p…

Policy Brief: Evidence based policy-making in the Caribbean

There is much advocacy in the Caribbean regarding the need for evidence-based policy making, that is – policy making that is based on timely and reliable data regarding a particular economic and/or social problem, to promote good governance and facilitate enhanced policy and programme outcomes. However, the reality remains an elusive one for many Caribbean policy makers, who implement policies based on ideas, as well as ad hoc or outdated data. Outside of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America are countries where polic…

Regional environmental policy and sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean

Tourism began to emerge in the Caribbean from the mid-1960s, and since that time, the sector experienced consistent growth so as to make it the major economic sector in the region by the early 1990s. While several factors such as the development of air travel, and closeness to the major source markets of the United States of America contributed to the strong growth in Caribbean tourism, the region's warm weather as well as pristine natural environments comprising of beaches, coral reefs, spectacular scenery and friendly peoples have undoubtedly contributed to the development of the touris…

Creative industries in the Caribbean: a new road for diversification and export growth

Creative industries have become a new engine of growth and development in the world economy. This dynamic sector, which ranges from traditional arts to multimedia, has been an important driver of innovation and productivity growth. The present study argues that the creative industries can become a pillar for economic diversification and export growth in the Caribbean. The study adds to the developing literature on the creative sector by evaluating export performance in the context of constraints as well as opportunities. The Caribbean creative sector possesses a number of advantages that are r…

A study on the capacity of statistical offices of the Caribbean to produce Environment, Social, Economic and Gender Statistics

Statistical organizations of the Caribbean countries continue to face serious challenges posed by the increased demand for more relevant, accurate and timely statistical data. Tangible progress has been made in delivering key products in the area of economic statistics. The central banks of the subregion have assisted greatly in this respect. However, even in this branch of statistics there are still several glaring gaps. The situation is even worse in other areas of statistics including social and environmental statistics. Even though all countries of the subregion have committed to the Mille…

The use of databases of social and gender statistics in the development of policies and programmes

The unavailability of data to inform policy planning and formulation has been repeatedly cited as the main challenge to economic and social progress in the Caribbean. Furthermore, even in instances when data is produced, broader gaps exist between its production and eventual use for evidence-based policy formulation. Owing to those challenges, this report explores the use of databases of social and gender statistics in the development of policies and programmes in the Caribbean subregion. The report offers a general appraisal of databases against two main considerations: (i) maximizing the use…

Preliminary overview of the Caribbean economies: 2010- 2011

Economic Survey of the Caribbean 2010-2011: improving economic prospects amid global recovery

This survey provides an overview of the economic performance of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, together with the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries for 2010 and their outlook for 2011. The first section is a summary of the main issues raised in the report including an assessment of the economic prospects for 2011. Chapter II analyses the impact of the global economy on the subregion then provides a comparative analysis of the GDP and sectoral growth performance. This is followed by the subsection on…

Caribbean Millennium Development Goals Report 2010

The eight Millennium Development Goals - which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV and AIDS and providing universal primary education by 2015 - form a blueprint for tackling critical issues facing developing countries: poverty, hunger, inadequate education, gender inequality, child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, and environmental degradation. The Caribbean Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 reviews progress in the Caribbean subregion towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals on the basis of the most recent data available from official coun…

Innovation in the tourism sector: a case study from the Commonwealth of Dominica

This study presents an analysis of innovation in the tourism sector of the Commonwealth of Dominica. The implementation of a questionnaire survey across a range of tourism sub-sectors yielded information on the scale of innovation activities, the characteristics of innovation firms and the internal and systemic factors that influence innovation. The key results of the analysis indicate that tourism businesses face a number of critical obstacles to innovation including challenging domestic economic conditions, lack of access to appropriate financing, weak customer demand, high cost of undertaki…

An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the tourism sector in Curacao

In this study, an attempt is made to estimate the economic impact of climate change on the tourism sector in the (former) Netherlands Antilles. There are three main objectives in this study. The first is to examine the factors that influence the demand and supply of tourism in Netherlands Antilles. The second is to forecast the cost of climate change to the tourism sector until 2050 under the A2 and B2 climate scenarios with the (Business as Usual) as a comparator climate scenario, and the third is to estimate the cost of adaptation and mitigation strategies that can be undertaken by the touri…

Inflation and the variability of relative prices in the Caribbean: evidence from panel threshold models

This paper examines the impact of inflation and its variability for eight Caribbean countries; Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The paper goes beyond the standard approach to examine the variability of relative prices (VRP) within the context of a threshold effects framework, since it was recognized that whether inflation was low or very high was significant in determining its impact on an economy. The paper employed a panel threshold effects model to capture the non-linear nature of the relationship…

Major statistical publications- abstracts. Vol XI

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean/secretariat for the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) takes pleasure in presenting the tenth volume of the Major Statistical Publications – Abstracts. This publication is a one stop for information on all statistical publications currently produced and/or in circulation by all ECLAC/CDCC member countries.…

Threshold effects in the relationship between inward foreign direct investment and import productivity growth in Latin America and the Caribbean

In the extensive literature on the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in developing countries, some studies have found (see Blalock and Gertler 2004, Todo and Miyamoto 2002) that the impact of inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows on growth was positive and significant. Apart from contributing to domestic investment and employment, FDI enhanced local technology capacity, assisted in promoting innovation through technology transfers and, generally, strengthened the competitive environment in a host country. While it is the case that FDI has been important to the development of many …