The Economic Development of Barbados

In The Economic Development of Barbados , Michael Howard discusses mainly economic factors influencing Barbadian economic development since the Second World War. He provides an interpretation of the role of foreign investment and public policy in the development process, within the conceptual framework of institutional structural analysis. The primary focus of this book is Sir Arthur Lewis’s model of industrialization, sometimes known as the Puerto Rican model, which determined the dependent path of the economy after 1960. Howard evaluates the economic consequences of this model with reference to the agricultural, manufacturing, tourism and external sectors of the economy. He also identifies some of the policy issues facing the government in the context of globalization. Howard concludes that although Barbados has achieved a commendable level of development, with the services sector as the main engine of growth, structural weaknesses remain in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. This highly readable text is a valuable addition to the development literature. The work is comprehensive in scope and should appeal to a wide range of readers, including development economists, students and policy makers.