Debt and Development in Small Island Developing States (PDF)

David Tennant, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica


Damien King, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica


Michelle Robinson, independent


Biman Prasad, University of the South Pacific, Fiji

Kushneel Prakash, University of the South Pacific, Fiji


Kaymara Barrett, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica


Altricia Dawson, independent


Sidonia Mackenzie, Bank of Jamaica

Kario-Paul Brown, independent


Abdullahi Abdulkadri, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica

"The obligation to have to cope with severe and recurring economic and financial crises is an ordinary and familiar circumstance of the typical small island developing state. The emergence of a debt crisis, characterized by the new unenviable status of these nations as among the world's most highly indebted countries, could therefore be seen as just another chapter in the crisis ridden history of small island states. This time it is different. The debt crisis and the measures that have to be used to deal with it, may turn out to be the most imposing constraint on sustainable development in these countries. This book dealing with the debt crisis in small states is therefore timely and of immediate and far reaching relevance. It should be required reading for all policy makers. But above all, it should be required reading for all who have the wellbeing of the people of the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and other small island regions at heart." - Owen S. Arthur, former Prime Minister, Barbados, 1994-2008

"In the context of the continued global fallout from the triple food, fuel, and financial crisis along with impending and increasingly likely climate change crisis, this book examines a fifth crisis facing SIDS the burden of increasingly unsustainable debt. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive analysis of the debt experiences of SIDS in the Caribbean, Pacific and AIMS regions. The depth of analysis, combined with the richness of the narratives provide much scope for drawing lasting lessons on debt accumulation and management from and for SIDS. The book thoroughly and comprehensively addresses the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of the debt in the most indebted and vulnerable countries in the world, and then proposes a deep and far-reaching set of proposals to deal with the problem. The arguments are presented in a way that fully supports the conclusions and persuades the reader that these recommendations will work. Notwithstanding that this is