Caribbean Public Policy: Regional, Cultural, and Socioeconomic Issues for the 21st Century

Braveboy-Wagner, Jacqueline Anne, and Dennis J. Gayle, (eds.). Caribbean Public Policy: Regional, Cultural, and Socioeconomic Issues for the 21st Century. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. 258 pp.

This book contains 21 chapters, many of them only a few pages long, and I won't attempt to comment on all the chapters. In general, the essays aim at creating a dialog between academicians and policymakers, though most of the authors are academicians. As the editors point out, "Almost everywhere in the world, academics tend to be viewed as `ivory tower' theorists who do not understand the 'real' world of policy-making" (p. 7). The editors suggest the creation of a situation "so that academics can have hands-on experience in government and government elites can be given opportunities to speak to academic audiences" (p. 8).

The primary focus of the book is on evaluating current policy, and many of the chapters simply point out that there is a problem, with crime and drugs, for example, and then give a weak solution, such as using more studies and more money. Also, despite the title this book pretty much addresses only the English-speaking Caribbean.

The book is divided in three parts. The first part covers "Global, Hemispheric, and Regional Trends" and their impact of Caribbean public policy. During the 1960s and 1970s the newly independent Caribbean nations expanded their public sector. In the 1980s, however, the region experienced widespread economic stagnation. Partially prodded by the imperatives of structural adjustment agreements with the International Monetary Fund, most of the Caribbean in the 1990s implemented various forms of privatization, deregulation, and market liberalization. Denis Benn of the United Nations Development Program suggests that government intervention and public sector economics are still desirable. Benn points out that CARICOM is not a common market. "The Caribbean would therefore need to engage in what may be described as a policy of `concentric diplomacy' that would seek to reconcile its relationships with a number of economic and trading groups, including the countries of the wider Caribbean, Central America, Latin America as a whole, the hemispheric system, the European Union, and, ultimately, the global system" (p. 22). Ransford Palmer analyzes the consequences of the North American Free Trade Area, particularly in textiles, and suggests that the Caribbean may not be competitive.

Part Two focuses on "The Caribbean Public Policy Agenda," covering Challenges in Culture, Education, and Training. This section opens with an article by Rex Nettleford on "Caribbean Culture." Like many intellectuals Nettleford agonizes over the Caribbean "identity," suggesting that Caribbeans need to raise above ethnic barriers and cooperate across national boundaries. Rosemarijn van Hoefte comments on the special difficulties in integrating the Indian population of Suriname. Dennis J. Gayle and Bhoendradatt Tewarie argue that the Caribbean needs a new type of manager, one able to operate effectively in both the public and private sectors.

Part Three deals with human development issues in the Caribbean public policy agenda. Ivelaw Griffith discusses crime and drugs and suggests that there are severe limitations in developing effective policies for handling narcotics. Rita Giacalone suggests that the potential of women can be enhanced by "building more and better channels of communication between the state apparatus and women" (p. 157); the private sector has "traditionally exploited cheap female labor" (p. 157).

Migration has been an important factor in the Caribbean. Mario Trajtenberg outlines some of the international legislative agenda pertaining to migrants. Monica Gordon summarizes Caribbean migration patterns and the important changes in U.S. immigration. In the area of telecommunication Felipe Noguera discusses the regulatory issues resulting from the recent privatization of telecommunication. Ewart Skinner offers some specific ways to take advantage of the Internet.

The book also includes three appendices: a speech by former Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago outlining his view of the regional agenda of the 1990s; excerpts from speeches by CARICOM's secretary-general Edwin Carrington on the survival of CARICOM; and some excerpts from the U.N. report of the 1994 conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

The book contains a lot of facts and figures that will be soon outdated, but those unfamiliar with public policy in the Caribbean will find some useful information.

Robert Lawless Wichita State University

Copyright Association of Third World Studies, Inc. Fall 2000
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