MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Caribbean Islands
Index
Jamaica is a middle-income, oil-importing country that
attempted diverse economic development strategies during the 1970s
and 1980s. Jamaica had the second largest GDP of the Commonwealth
Caribbean, behind only Trinidad and Tobago, an oil-exporter. The
island's GDP for 1985 was US$1.7 billion, or US$940 per capita. The
major sectors of the economy were bauxite (see Glossary) and
alumina (see Glossary), tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture.
Bauxite and alumina, in particular, set the pace of Jamaica's
postwar economic growth through new investment and foreign exchange
earnings. Bauxite production declined rapidly in Jamaica in the
1980s, however, because of the prolonged recession in the world
aluminum industry, global oversupply, and the departure of
multinational producers. Tourism declined in the 1970s, but
recovered between 1980 and 1986, thus becoming the second most
important sector of the economy. Manufacturing, a quite diversified
sector, underwent structural changes in the 1980s when production
was refocused on exports rather than on the domestic market.
Agriculture, the heart of the Jamaican economy for centuries, has
been in relative decline since World War II.
Jamaica enjoyed rapid growth rates during the 1950s and 1960s
as the bauxite industry boomed. Real GDP growth averaged about 4.5
percent during these two decades. Economic growth was sporadic and
weak from 1972 to 1986, however. Indeed, the Jamaican economy did
not register two consecutive years of significant growth during
that period. Between 1973 and 1980, the island experienced seven
consecutive years of negative growth. The economic downturn in the
1970s demonstrated the highly mobile nature of both labor and
capital in Jamaica, as skilled labor and investment capital left
the island. The democratic socialist government of Michael Manley
from 1972 to 1980 was popularly blamed for the poor performance
during the 1970s (see Political Dynamics, this ch.). Nevertheless,
Manley's successor and conservative political opponent, Edward
Seaga, was also unable to turn the economy around during his first
six years in office. The economy experienced sporadic and
unsustained growth in the early 1980s. GDP declined by 4.5 percent
in 1985 but rose again in 1986 by more than 2 percent. In the mid1980s , the Jamaican economy was about where it was in 1980 in terms
of real GDP. Negative growth in the 1980s was generally attributed
to the acute decline in the world bauxite market.
Most Jamaicans enjoyed a relatively high quality of life when
compared with their neighbors. For example, in the early 1980s,
Jamaica's physical-quality-of-life index computed by the Overseas
Development Council was higher than that of Mexico and Venezuela
and equal to that of Trinidad and Tobago. Nevertheless, Jamaica
still suffered from severe social problems resulting from the
skewed distribution of the country's wealth, often said to be the
legacy of colonialism and slavery. For example, in 1960 the top 20
percent of society received 61 percent of the national income, and
after independence income distribution continued to worsen. Land
tenure was also highly inequitable. In 1961, the year before
independence, 10 percent of the population owned 64 percent of the
land; this pattern continued in the 1970s, despite the
implementation of a land reform program. Less than 1 percent of the
country's farms covered about 43 percent of the land in 1978.
Jamaicans in urban areas had much more access to piped water,
sanitary plumbing facilities, and high quality health care than
their rural counterparts. These disparities in income and service
were believed to have widened even more as a result of the austere
economic policies of the 1980s.
Jamaica was hardly immune from the structural economic problems
affecting other developing countries in the era. Beginning in the
mid-1970s, inflation was generally double-digit, caused primarily
by the increase in world oil prices, expansionary fiscal policies,
and entrenched labor unions. Chronic unemployment and recession
coexisted with high inflation during the 1970s, causing
stagflation. Unemployment averaged roughly 25 percent during the
1975-85 period, affecting women and urban youth the hardest. The
country also faced rapid urbanization as economic opportunities in
rural areas deteriorated. In 1960, about 34 percent of the island's
population was considered urban, but by 1982 that figure had risen
to about 48 percent as opportunities in rural areas declined. Like
other countries in the Western hemisphere, Jamaica quickly compiled
a large external debt in the 1970s and 1980s; by the end of 1986,
it amounted to US$3.5 billion, one of the highest per capita debts
in the world.
In the 1980s, Jamaica's economy was generally defined as free
enterprise, although major sectors were government controlled. The
PNP governments in the 1970s were the most active in increasing
state ownership. Although some private companies were purchased,
the more usual pattern was to create joint public-private
enterprises or to increase government regulation of the private
sector, especially of foreign multinationals. In the 1970s the
state ownership was largely financed by a levy on bauxite
production, introduced in 1974, and by deficit spending.
In 1980 Seaga was elected on a platform of denationalization
and deregulation of the economy. In his first six years in office,
however, Seaga achieved mixed results. Denationalization did occur
in tourism and agriculture, but the role of government actually
increased in oil refining and bauxite production after several
large firms unexpectedly left the island. As of early 1987, the
structural adjustment (see Glossary) of the economy was nearly
completed and increased government divestments were forecast.
Jamaica's economy was rather open. Trade as a ratio of GDP was
estimated to be over 50 percent in the 1970s, a percentage believed
to be increasing in the 1980s. As part of structural adjustment
policies to further open up the economy, the Jamaican dollar was
devalued several times in the early 1980s. Although imports fell as
a result, the country's overall trade deficit actually increased as
prices collapsed for its major primary product exports, bauxite and
sugar. The country's trade deficit rose to over US$500 million
during 1985. The island's direction of trade changed, with a
greater share going to the United States and less to the Caribbean
Community and Common Market (Caricom--see Appendix C), particularly
to Jamaica's major trading partner in the community, Trinidad and
Tobago.
Data as of November 1987
- Caribbean Islands-Historical Background
- Caribbean Islands-Prosperity and Government Centralization, 1974-81
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Agriculture
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands-Tourism
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: Turks and Caicos Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Chapter 7 - Strategic and Regional Security Perspectives
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands-Labor Force and Industrial Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands-Growth and Structure of the Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-A Regional Security System
- Caribbean Islands-Tourism
- Caribbean Islands-Other Third World Relations
- Caribbean Islands-SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Balance of Payments and Debt
- Caribbean Islands-HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Caribbean Islands-ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands-FOREIGN RELATIONS
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-Manufacturing
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with the Commonwealth and Others
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: St - Christopher and Nevis ST - CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS
- Caribbean Islands-The Penal System
- Caribbean Islands-The Soviet Presence
- Caribbean Islands-Colonial Heritage HISTORICAL SETTING
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: Antigua and Barbuda ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
- Caribbean Islands-The Public Security Forces
- Caribbean Islands-Political Systems
- Caribbean Islands-EDUCATION
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with Latin American and Caribbean Countries
- Caribbean Islands-Changes in the Social Base of Political Power POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE
- Caribbean Islands-POPULATION
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with the United States
- Caribbean Islands-Livestock, Fishing, and Forestry
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-ECONOMY
- Caribbean Islands-Banking and Finance
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-NATIONAL SECURITY
- Caribbean Islands-Agricultural Sector
- Caribbean Islands-The Barbados Defence Force
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-The Police
- Caribbean Islands-The Robinson Government
- Caribbean Islands-United States Preeminence
- Caribbean Islands-External Sector
- Caribbean Islands-Energy
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-POLITICAL TRADITIONS
- Caribbean Islands-THE STRATEGIC SETTING
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands-Livestock, Fishing, and Forestry
- Caribbean Islands-Industrial Sector
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with the Commonwealth and Others
- Caribbean Islands-THE COLONIAL PERIOD
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with Communist Countries
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands-GEOGRAPHIC SETTING
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands-Macroeconomic Overview
- Caribbean Islands-Sectoral Performance
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands-Natural Gas
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Incidence of Crime
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: Barbados BARBADOS
- Caribbean Islands-The Road to Independence
- Caribbean Islands-PREFACE
- Caribbean Islands -CHAPTER 3 - TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
- Caribbean Islands-Services
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments
- Caribbean Islands-World War II
- Caribbean Islands-External Sector
- Caribbean Islands-EDUCATION
- Caribbean Islands-Foreword
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-The Postwar Strategic Vacuum
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-Regional Security Threats, 1970-81
- Caribbean Islands-Controversial Security Issues
- Caribbean Islands-HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Assistance
- Caribbean Islands-Chapter 4 - The Windward Islands and Barbados
- Caribbean Islands-ECONOMY
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Banking, Financial Services, and Currency
- Caribbean Islands-HISTORICAL SETTING
- Caribbean Islands-Education SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS, 1800-1960
- Caribbean Islands-The Post-Williams Era, 1981-86
- Caribbean Islands-The Armed Forces
- Caribbean Islands-Chapter 6 - The Northern Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with the United States
- Caribbean Islands-Sectoral Performance
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Finance and Banking
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: CAYMAN ISLANDS BRITISH DEPENDENCIES: THE CAYMAN ISLANDS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Services
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-Land Tenure and Use
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: MONTSERRAT
- Caribbean Islands-Growth and Structure of the Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Transportation, Communications, and Electricity
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands-Petroleum and Asphalt
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Macroeconomic Overview
- Caribbean Islands-The Pre-European Population HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SETTING
- Caribbean Islands-Macroeconomic Overview
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: The Bahamas THE BAHAMAS
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Crops
- Caribbean Islands-National Income and Public Finance
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: Dominica DOMINICA
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands-Trade and Finance
- Caribbean Islands-Chapter 1 - Regional Overview
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Labor Organizations
- Caribbean Islands-Revenues
- Caribbean Islands-THE REGIONAL SECURITY SETTING
- Caribbean Islands-Construction
- Caribbean Islands-Manufacturing
- Caribbean Islands-Agriculture
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-ISLANDS OF THE COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Political Dynamics
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with Latin American and Caribbean Countries
- Caribbean Islands-National Security
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-COUNTRY PROFILE: ANGUILLA
- Caribbean Islands-NATIONAL SECURITY
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-THE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS
- Caribbean Islands-Balance of Payments and Debt
- Caribbean Islands-INTRODUCTION
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Relations
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Banking and Finance
- Caribbean Islands-Current Strategic Considerations
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Narcotics Crime
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Petrochemicals
- Caribbean Islands-Sectoral Performance
- Caribbean Islands-POPULATION
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-The Post-Emancipation Societies
- Caribbean Islands-The West Indies Federation, 1957-62
- Caribbean Islands-Relations with the United States, Britain, and Canada FOREIGN RELATIONS
- Caribbean Islands-Sectoral Performance
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Crops
- Caribbean Islands-National Income and Public Finance
- Caribbean Islands-Sectoral Performance
- Caribbean Islands-Precursors of Independence
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-The Criminal Justice System
- Caribbean Islands-GEOGRAPHY
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands-Banking and Finance
- Caribbean Islands-Economic Policy and Management
- Caribbean Islands-Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments
- Caribbean Islands-Political Unrest and Economic Troubles, 1970-73
- Caribbean Islands-Education
- Caribbean Islands-Labor Force and Industrial Relations
- Caribbean Islands-Chapter 5 - The Leeward Islands
- Caribbean Islands -Chapter 2 - Jamaica
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-The Governmental System GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Caribbean Islands-The Sugar Revolutions and Slavery
- Caribbean Islands-Macroeconomic Overview
- Caribbean Islands-The Cuban Presence
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Land Tenure and Use
- Caribbean Islands-Macroeconomic Overview
- Caribbean Islands-Role of Government
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands-The Governmental System GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Caribbean Islands-Economy
- Caribbean Islands-Industry
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-The Increased Role of the United States
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-Transportation and Communications
- Caribbean Islands-Country profile: Grenada GRENADA
- Caribbean Islands-Iron and Steel
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Banking and Finance
- Caribbean Islands-Postwar Federation Efforts
- Caribbean Islands-Health and Welfare
- Caribbean Islands-Government and Politics
- Caribbean Islands
- Caribbean Islands-Population
- Caribbean Islands-GEOGRAPHY
- Caribbean Islands-Industry
- Caribbean Islands-Consolidation and Economic Hardship, 1962-69
- Caribbean Islands-Patterns of Development
- Caribbean Islands-Geography
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|