Articles (from 1999 to 2002 Annual Reports)
The
Relevance Of The Value Added Tax To ECCU Member Countries
By Laurel Bain, Adviser, ECCB (2002)
The
Internet Economy: Challenges And Opportunities For Caribbean
Exports by Allister Mounsey (2002)
The
Economic Outlook For The Eastern Caribbean Currency
Union By Garth Nicholls (2001)
Sovereign
Credit Ratings And The Government Securities Market
In The ECCB Member Territories By John O. Venner (2000)
Constraints
To The Growth And Development Of Tourism In The ECCB
Member Territories By Louis E A Lewis (1999)
Bananas,
The WTO and Adjustment Initiatives in the Eastern Caribbean
Central Bank Area by Oral H Williams and Reginald Darius(1998)
The paper examines the socio-economic role of bananas
in the countries comprising the unified currency area
in the Eastern Caribbean. It discusses the viability
of the industry in light of the recent WTO ruling that
the banana regime contravened the WTO agreement in several
aspects. The nature of the system of preferences for
bananas is reviewed while the contribution of bananas
to merchandise exports and real GDP, and its impact
on land use are highlighted. The social dimensions of
banana production are illustrated by its contribution
to rural stability and informal sector activity. Finally,
policy issues related to diversification, industry adjustment,
social safety nets and competitiveness are reviewed.
View Paper
DEVELOPMENT
BANKING ISSUES IN THE ECCB AREA by Garth P Nicholls
(1997)
The concept of a development bank arises out of the
perceived need on the part of a particular society to
provide mechanisms which facilitate economic development.
It finds its rationale in the appeal to the concept
of market failure on the part of existing financial
institutions. However, a development bank, by financing
projects which possess positive externalities, usually
fulfills only one aspect of an overall strategy aimed
at economic development. To be effective, it must form
part of a wider development strategy. The development
bank's goal should therefore be assisting with the implementation
of certain aspects of the development strategy using
the private sector as an avenue. The performance of
the development banks in the ECCB area has been mixed.
A number of factors have had an impact on their overall
performance; among them are over-exposure to risks in
the domestic economy, high transaction costs and a dearth
of long term domestic finance and technical capacity.
However, these factors do not justify the suspension,
by the authorities, of this type of activity. On the
contrary, because market failure is pervasive in the
domestic financial arrangements, the state may need
to be more entrepreneurial, by playing either a facilitatory
or interventionist role. In this sense, therefore, the
solution may be to find ways of improving the operations
of the development banks.
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Articles and Research Papers