Andrew S. Downes

Labor Market Regulation and Employment in the Caribbean

This research project focuses on the demand side of the labor market by examining the impact which labor market regulations have had on employment creation in the English-speaking Caribbean countries of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Although a recent IADB report on labor market reform in Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that the English-speaking Caribbean countries have a lower level of labor market inflexibility than Latin American countries, the regulatory environment in both the labor and commodity markets has had some adverse impact on employment creation in the region (IADB, 1996). Results from a study of the operations of the labor market in the Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development (CGCED) suggest that these regulatory measures do have some effect on the operation of businesses in the region (see Abt Associates, 1998).

An Economic Analysis of Unemployment in Trinidad and Tobago

Unemployment is regarded as one of the most challenging economic problems facing the governments of the Caribbean. Although there are variations in the measurement of unemployment, official estimates obtained from labor force surveys indicate that in 1995 the unemployment rate ranged from 7.8 percent in Antigua/Barbuda to 19.7 percent in Barbados. This paper explores unemployment in Trinidad and Tobago.

Barbados: Meeting the Challenge of Competitiveness in the 21st Century

The material within these pages shows that Barbados, a Caribbean country with just over a quarter of a million people, embodies many of the classic vulnerabilities of an island with a small open economy, yet aspires to developed-country status, and is already well advanced on the road to achieving the MDG targets. Viewed in this light, this book raises the question: Is Barbados the little island that can? The authors have approached that question mainly from the point of view of international competitiveness, one of the pillars, along with macroeconomic and financial stability, required for accelerated and sustained growth. Starting with a wide-ranging macroeconomic diagnosis, this monograph examines the strengths and competitiveness challenges facing Barbados from the points of view of the institutional and private sector constraints and environment for competitiveness, labour market conditions and trade policy framework and performance. It also narrows the focus to take a sectoral perspective, examining the leading tourism industry. To convey a sense of the public-policy complexities, the book also includes a brief analysis focusing on the agricultural sector.