The Effects of Globalization on Caricom Caribbean Economies

The recent globalization process poses significant challenges to small developing economies such as those in the Caribbean, which are already dealing with a number of issues in their pursuit of sustainable development. For Caribbean countries, the impact of globalization on trade has been reflected in increased liberalization and market-opening policies, especially during the latter part of the 1980s and the 1990s. Influenced by the paradigm shift in policies at the global level, Caribbean countries responded with a package of policies geared towards limiting the role of the State in the economy and reinvigorating stagnant production systems, which were reoriented towards export markets. Trade reforms were implemented and regional integration gained new impetus.