After earlier success, growth performance in most Caribbean countries has been disappointing since the early 1990s. With slower growth, output has fallen behind that of relevant comparator countries. This paper analyzes the growth experience of the Caribbean countries from a cross country...

This study measures the impact of changing economic conditions in OECD countries on tourist arrivals to countries/destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. A model of utility maximization across labor, consumption of goods and services at home, and consumption of tourism services across...

This paper examines debt dynamics in the Caribbean and discusses policy options for reducing the high debt levels. Based on empirical studies of factors underlying global large debt reduction episodes, important policy lessons are drawn for the Caribbean. The analysis shows that major debt...

The oil price decline creates an opportunity to dismantle energy subsidies, which escalatedwith high oil prices. This paper assesses energy subsidies in Latin America and theCaribbean-about 1.8 percent of GDP in 2011-13 (approximately evenly split betweenfuel and electricity), and about 3.8...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. TRENDS IN REGIONAL INVESTMENT6 -- III. LITERATURE REVIEW -- IV. A BASIC INVESTMENT MODEL -- V. DATA -- VI. ESTIMATION ISSUES -- VII. ESTIMATION RESULTS -- VIII. CONCLUSIONS -- References -- Data Sources and Estimates.

With a fixed peg to the U.S. dollar for more than three decades, the tourism-dependent Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries share a close economic relationship with the U.S. This paper analyzes the impact of the United States on ECCU business cycles and identifies possible...

Recent turbulence in global and Caribbean regional financial markets underscore the importance of reassessing the adequacy of international reserves held by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). Using the Jeanne (2007) optimization framework, this paper finds that international reserves...