Economies of Development in the Caribbean

Caribbean territories have grasped different economy models to development within different periods of time.

The 1950s and 1960s was centred on the Arthur Lewis’ dual economy model which was referred to as “industrialization by invitation.” It stroke competition between new foreign capital and the local capitalist since these multinational cooperation’s were able to develop exporting capacities of products to the U.S and Europe at a minimum cost. This caused the strategy to fail as it did not reduce unemployment or develop the local economy.

The most impacting model to date is state-led development in which means that the state is the full driver of the economy. Many countries have employed this formation of Statis development such as Manley’s democratic socialist PNP in Jamaica and the People’s Revolutionary Government in Grenada were ideological formations of statist development. 

In Trinidad and Tobago a state-led capitalist development was formed as Eric Williams with the PNM significantly drew sectors of the economy into the portfolio of the state after the Black Power Revolution in a form of state-led capitalist development. Though this was effective to some extent, issues of corruption and political patronage have resulted in the failure of some state enterprises. This has evidently led to a ‘debt dependency’ within the public sector. 

In the first section of the book Wretched of the Earth, National Consciousness, Fanon showed the means by which the newly independent states have no economic funds to develop the economy as the colonizers leave them with just the country/state. The new leaders, with no ability to diversify the economies then carry on the same economic activities as before, thus leaving the country in stagnation. However as seen in the case with Trinidad and Tobago, corruption slows the benefits of the economies as Fanon stated, which showed the new leaders pushing for independence but then getting carried away and seeking personal gains.