The Challenge of Diversification in the Caribbean

A. Salehizadeh, Peter Berezin and Elcior Santana

No 2002/196, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: It is typically assumed that countries in the Caribbean suffer from a lack of output and export diversification. Contrary to this popular perception, we find no evidence that output variability is higher in Caribbean countries than in larger, more diversified, developing economies. In addition, we find no evidence that export earnings are more volatile in the Caribbean economies than elsewhere. In fact, export earnings are quite stable in the Caribbean, reflecting the fact the region is rather unique in that most of its export earnings are generated from service exports, which tend to be considerably less volatile than goods exports.

Keywords: WP; developing country; foreign direct investment; rate of return; Caribbean country; growth; Caribbean; diversification; consumption; risk-sharing; informatics firm; risk pooling; construction company; information processing company; production diversification; information technology company; physical capital; telecommunications company; firms in core market; Export earnings; Income; Agricultural commodities; North America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53
Date: 2002-11-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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