Economic survey of the Caribbean 2008-2009

This survey provides an overview of the economic performance of countries of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) for the year 2008 and their outlook for 2009. The report comprises
three chapters. The first provides a regional comparative analysis of the main macroeconomic
variables, namely GDP growth, inflation, fiscal and external accounts, as well as fiscal,
monetary and other policies, particularly those specifically devised to cope with the ongoing
global economic crisis. The second chapter deals with two topics relevant for economic
development in the region: economic growth and small and medium enterprises development
from an analytical and empirical perspective. The last chapter presents country briefs of the
seven most developed countries (MDCs) in the Caribbean – Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago – together with a subregional
assessment of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).