Macroeconomics in Small Island States

Book excerpt: Macroeconomics in Small Island States brings to the reader similar subjects as in a traditional economics reader, but now in the context of small islands. To insure a level of societal well-being an island state develops an economic infrastructure that can be useful to attract foreign investors, and makes efforts to obtain continuous financing for activities to boost social and economic progress as well as international competitiveness. The colonial domination of the past and the long history of foreign transnationals as major economic actors, influence economic thinking, especially with respect to the focus on what should constitute basic industries and the transition to global competiveness. Additionally, changes in the domestic and international socio- economic environment and natural disasters can impact the ability of the island state to fulfill its debt service obligations negatively. These aspects put major pressure on the management of the internal economy, while investments in foreign capital goods apparently tend to have lower growth effects than would generally be expected from the domestic marginal propensity to consume. The publication gives attention to these issues and more and makes reference throughout to contributions to economic thinking by scholars in the Caribbean region.