Economic theory suggests that opening the capital account should allow a country to diversify away economic shocks, increase capital inflows, expand economic growth and efficiency as well as encourage governments to pursue good policies. The empirical evidence with regard to these theoretical...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential link between remittances and economic volatility in small island developing states. Design/methodology/approach – The paper estimates a panel data model using a database containing 20 small island developing states (SIDS)...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main determinants of dependency on food aid programmes. Food aid may take the form of a loan, a sale below market price or a current transfer. Food aid programmes across the globe are generally designed to provide short‐term...

Purpose – Remittances are the fastest growing source of foreign exchange earnings for developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of remittances on economic volatility of the receiving country. Design/methodology/approach – A panel of 95 countries over the period...

Purpose – Developing countries tend to be characterised by relatively high levels of indebtedness. The proceeds from debt can potentially have positive effects on growth, if the funds are employed to expand the productive capacity of the nation. The paper aims to investigate whether debt can...

This study attempts to identify the key structural and institutional factors that influence the decision to export using a database of 8,047 firms in manufacturing, services and agricultural activity and in 81 countries. A Probit model of the export decision is estimated for the full sample of...

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...

Purpose – Since the decline of export agriculture and the loss of trade preferences, most Caribbean countries have shifted their economies towards the provision of tourism services. Barbados, for example, receives more than two‐thirds of its foreign exchange earnings from tourism. The...