Jamaica is home of the phrase “be happy, don’t worry,” and is a popular tourist spot that foreigners escape to for a temporary slice of paradise. Given the success of the tourist industry, it is easy to mistake Jamaica as a thriving country with the locals living blissfully in paradise; the clip from “Life and Debt” completely dispels these notions and introduces the negative effects that have developed from free trade policies that were recommended by the International Monetary Fund. International Monetary Fund representatives in the clip present globalization and free trade as a form of economic liberation that would bring Jamaica economic success despite its small size. An IMF representative in the clip states that, “Jamaica is a very small …show more content…
The IMF representative in the clip claims that, “They needed to expand their exports and diminish their imports and the best way of doing that is to make foreign currency more expensive.” Whether done intentionally or not, the only economies that seemed to have prospered from this new relationship and reduced trade barriers are those countries that are already economically sufficient. Judging from the negative effects that befell Jamaica when it reduced its trade barriers, it could be concluded developed countries were looking for new markets to import their goods and set their eyes on Jamaica, a tiny country that they could easily intimidate into submission. In the video clip, vendors complained about the large amounts of foreign fruits and vegetables that were now in their market and stated that these imports were hurting their businesses. While local farmers are failing to find a market for their produce, foreign countries have found a market for their exports in the local supermarkets. As mentioned in the video clip, supermarkets seemed to be doing well with the overseas produce because they are being sold for less than the local produce. The reduction of trade barriers has introduced a new competitor to Jamaican markets that mirrors
He says you can always import the stuff and re-export it to other countries and still make a profit. Countries trade with each other when, on their own, they do not have the resources, or capacity to satisfy their own needs and wants. This also benefits a mass amount of people and business by supporting more productive, higher paying jobs. Trade keeps the economy competitive and ensure that there will be business with other countries.
Jessen, Anneke, and Christopher Vignoles. Jamaica: Trade, Integration and the Quest for Growth. Buenos Aires: Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2005. Print
Steven Gregory’s The Devil behind the Mirror: Globalization and Politics in the Dominican Republic is an eye-opening text on the impacts of globalization on developing countries. Based in the coastal cities of Boca Chica and Andres in the Dominican Republic, Gregory offers an insight to the negativity that globalization has induced rather than the benefits and hopes it promises. He shows us how the country’s shift into the neoliberal tourism industry has changed people’s lives, specifically the poor. His main focuses are centered on class, race, and gender.
Trading internationally, along with foreign trading policies has always been a controversial issue in America. Free trade is just as taboo if not more so. Today, the United States has made an attempt to maintain an open market of trading. Free trading greatly benefits a nation’s economy. The history of trade in The United States dates back over half a century ago. Through a substantial part of history, the United States had implemented rather extensive barriers and restrictions regarding importation, in order to better protect domestic suppliers from any serious foreign rivalry. Regardless, of Government restrictions and barriers set in place to avoid foreign competition it is healthy for our nation to have motivation and have the desire to
The economics of Haiti has deceased in the last 4 years after the devastating earthquake that struck it 4 years ago. The Haiti economy has become very poor and one of the poorest country in the south, Central America and Caribbean region making it ranked 24 out of 29 countries in this area and its overall score is below average. Haiti’s economic freedom is 48.1 making it economy the 151st freest country while in the last several years Declines in the management of government spending, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom make its overall score 2.6 points lower than last year. Recovering from the disastrous earthquake in 2010 with the support of the U.S. recovering efforts “Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts continue, assisted by substantial aid from the international community. Governing institutions remain weak and inefficient, and overall progress has not been substantial. The parliament has not renewed the mandate of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which had been tasked with overseeing reconstruction efforts but was unpopular.”( .heritage.org). The open market of Haiti trade weighted to be 2.1 this is because the lack of tariffs hamper the trade freedom of Haiti. Foreign investors are given national treatment but the investment is small and the financial sector is remained underdeveloped and does not provide any adequate support.
A way to measure a country’s economy is to look at its gross domestic products. This tells the total value of the goods and services that a country produces. In Jamaica, the economy has always been the main problem for the people. It is based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and bauxite mining. The country is very dependent upon tourism, its main source of foreign exchange. Bauxite mining is the principal source of revenue for the country. Most people do not have the opportunity to go to school and also there are not enough jobs for everybody. On the contrary, the United States is wealthiest in terms of economy. They have abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. Moreover, people have more chances of going to school, and there are more job opportunities for those who graduate as
And even though the tariff barriers have been reduced significantly, but the other barriers still exist. The developing nations have argued that the protectionist trading policies of developed nations is being an obstacle against the industrialization of many developing nations. Accordingly, developing nations have sought a new international. trading system with improved access to the market of developed nations. Some of the problems that the developing nations faced have been unstable export markets. Deterioration of terms of trade, and limited access to the market of developed.
Author Emiko Todoroki, Matteo Vaccani and Wameek Noor in thier overview of "The Canada-Caribbean Remittance Corridor: Fostering Formal Remittance to Haiti and Jamaica Through effective regulations." shows how the Bank of Jamaica "undertakes rigorous assessment in relations to the regulatory framework under which remittance is governed." The article shows that money transfer operators and other subagents who want to operate in the Jamaica are subjected to adhere to the licensing regime in the country. Money transfer companies that want to operate within Jamaica that has more than one subagent are faced with high prices and long licensing wait time. (Todoroki, Vaccani, Noor
In order for international trade to work well, governments must allow the world market to determine how goods are sold, manufactured and traded for all to economically prosper. While all nations may have the capability to produce any goods or services needed by their population, it is not possible for all nations to have a comparative advantage for producing a good due to natural resources of the country or other available resources needed to produce a good or service. The example of trading among states comprising the United States is an example of how free trade works best without the interve...
So then it is safe to say that globalization affects many aspects of our lives and therefore should not be taken lightly. It is the tool that all country should use to help the economy and political system within their nation. It is the sole responsibility of the government and the citizens of both Jamaica and Greece to study the possibilities and embark upon them if they choose to.
Jamaica now is what we called “post-industrial” country. In post-industrial country, for those workers in service job instead of high-tech and high-wage job would find it is hard to paying their bills and feel marginalized by the mainstream of the society economically (Kendall et al. 2011). In regardless how, this documentary does not put much effort on emphasizing how industry and services contribute to Jamaican economy. This documentary puts too much efforts in agricultural aspect, which is suspecting to try to lead audiences pay attention only one aspect instead of all of three
Globalization, love it or hate it, but you can’t escape it. Globalization may be regarded as beneficial from an economic and business point of view, but however cannot be perceived the ditto when examined from the social sciences and humanities side of it. Globalization can be argued as a tool for economic growth, advancement and prosperity through co-operation between the developed and developing countries. The pro-globalization critics argue that the benefits that globalization brings to developing nations surpasses or outcasts the negative impacts caused by globalization and may even go a step further to state that it is the only source of hope for developing nations to prosper and stand out. However, the real question to be asked is as to what extent are the positives argued upon without taking into account the negative aspects of globalization towards developing countries. Moreover, how many developing countries out of many are exactly benefiting or even prospering from globalization is another question to consider. Therefore, my paper will dispute that indeed growth and advancement provided by globalization to developing countries is beneficial in short-term, but in the long-run, it will only bring upon negative impacts and challenges due to the obstacles involved such as exploitation of labour and resources, higher increase in poverty, and effects of multi-national corporations on local businesses and the economy, and to an extent the effects on the developing country itself.
Trade is an important driver of economic growth for SIDS and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is cognizant of the key role that trade policy continues to play in diversifying the export base; increasing global trade share; and effectively integrating the economy into the global trading system. Trinidad and Tobago’s Trade Policy and Strategy 2013-2017 will ensure that the benefits of international trade contribute to the country’s socio-economic development. This will be achieved by expanding and diversifying production, exports (goods and services) and markets. Given the emerging global issues in trade this Policy and Strategy will be reviewed in the medium term to ensure consistency with recent international agreements.
Fletcher, I. (2011). Crumbling of Free Trade – And Why it’s a Good Thing. Retrieved from
According to the ‘World Tourism Organization’ (UNWTO), the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, as it is estimated that by the year 2020, 7.8 billion people (roughly a quarter of the world’s population) will embark on a foreign trip (Bennett & Gebhardt 15). The Caribbean is said to be the most economically dependent on this industry, as the ‘Caribbean Tourism Organisation’ states that the industry forms the “economic backbone of most countries in the Region”(“Caribbean Tourism Industry” 1), implications for what tourism’s affect on the region have arisen and have prompted further research into matter. Since the 1970’s research regarding tourism in the Caribbean has attempted to determine the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of tourism. Much of the research has found that there are in fact many negative adverse affects, and Jackson’s article asserts that, “Governments often commit money and other resources to support the growth and development of tourism and often turn a blind eye to its negative impacts” (574). The reason why tourism looks attractive (and thus turn a blind eye) to these Caribbean countries is because of “its potential to foster GDP growth, to create employment, to increase foreign exchange earnings, and attract capital investment” (Daye, Chambers, and Roberts 2). This paper will overview such impacts by first discussing a case study conducted in Jamaican resort town, Ocho Rios, with Sheere Brooks discussing the observed social, cultural and economical consequences of Jamaica’s reliance on the tourism industry and will finally look at tourism in relation to capitalism, with Robert Fletcher suggesting in his article that the tourism industry (and more specifically...