High rates of inflation are a perennial problem in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. This article attempts to identify the factors that initiate these inflationary episodes using observations on 31 LAC countries between 1970 and 2006. The study finds that the key determinants of...

A large body of literature exists on the potential impact that capital account liberalization has had on uncovered interest rate parity. However, it can also have important effects on domestic bank spreads by providing economies of scale and scope and increasing competitive pressures. This...

Purpose – Credit booms have frequently been identified as causes of financial crises. However, credit growth, and the supply of finance, in general, is intimately associated with economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to consider why Caribbean countries go through episodes of credit...

Since 1970, private sector credit has grown quite rapidly in the Caribbean. More recently, between 2004 and 2006, total real credit in the Caribbean has risen by a cumulative 55.7 percent, or approximately 19 percent per annum. In some countries, the rate of expansion has even been stronger,...

The tourist industry is widely recognised as the key engine of growth in the Caribbean, representing a significant source of foreign exchange earnings and employment. The present study provides an assessment of how climate change could likely impact on regional tourism features. The analysis is...

Historically, the lack of competition in developing countries has resulted in highly concentrated domestic industries that suffer from diseconomies of scale but prosper behind high walls of protection. Liberalization is expected to reverse this trend but at what cost? This article utilizes an...