Two key regional organisations in the Caribbean, the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, had their roles fundamentally expanded in 2001 by treaties that developed a single market and a regional court. This book sets out the new roles of these organisations and their impact on regional integration in the Caribbean.

A critical part of the history of regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean is to be found in the widening of the economic and functional relationships among the English-speaking Caribbean to embrace other countries in the Greater Caribbean. Bringing together a range of international experts to explain the broad thrusts of CARICOM’s widening project and the opportunities and challenges it presents, the book pays particular attention to CARICOM’s relations with the French Caribbean territories. Providing a review of the pan-Caribbean landscape this volume notes the impact of these new relationships on internal CARICOM affairs; inter-regional/South-South cooperation; and political and legislative changes in European metropoles of the non-independent territories. It also contemplates recent developments in the region and globally, such as political instability in Brazil and Venezuela, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and the policies of the Donald Trump administration. This edited collection will be an important resource for students and researchers in Latin American and Caribbean politics, economics, development, history and heritage.

Regional integration has emerged as perhaps the most controversial issue within the Caribbean. While some progress in implementing economic reforms, both at the national and regional level are observable, the efforts made by Caribbean policymakers to strengthen regional cooperation and integration have not yielded the envisioned level of economic transformation. Caribbean Trade and Integration distinguishes itself by combining history with sound economic and policy analysis. Moreover, this book reviews a survey of several key historical studies that have identified the urgent need for a change in policy action among Caribbean Community member states over time and that have outlined many pointed policy suggestions to effect the same. The book culminates by addressing the need to unpause the Caribbean Single Market and Economy and proposes a number of initiatives to generate this outcome. While this book is written to appeal to an academic audience, it also provides essential reading for policy practitioners, stakeholder groups, the CARICOM Secretariat and those interested in the dynamics of Caribbean regional integration.

" Assessing the potential benefits and risks of a currency union Leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have set a goal of achieving a monetary and currency union by late 2020. Although some progress has been made toward achieving this ambitious goal, major challenges remain if the region is to realize the necessary macroeconomic convergence and establish the required institutional framework in a relatively short period of time. The proposed union offers many potential benefits, especially for countries with historically high inflation rates and weak central banks. But, as implementation of the euro over the past two decades has shown, folding multiple currencies, representing disparate economies, into a common union comes with significant costs, along with operational challenges and transitional risks. All these potential negatives must be considered carefully by ECOWAS leaders seeking tomeet a self-imposed deadline. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, andthe ramifications for the African continent. "

This volume brings together experts from different world regions. It presents various experiences with building indicator systems for monitoring the implementation of regional economic integration policies such as preferential trade areas, common markets or economic and monetary unions. The volume discusses both the technical and governance aspects of such systems, and best practices. The regional experiences that are covered include: the European Union, Eurasia, ASEAN, the East African Community (EAC), COMESA, CARICOM, the African-Caribbean-Pacific Group, and the Americas. In addition, various chapters discuss cross-cutting methodological challenges related to trade-related indicators.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the role of regional integration in the contemporary Caribbean, challenging the value of the neoliberal ideology that permeates regionalism discourse. The book asks what value neoliberal regionalism holds for the Caribbean, when its economic goals of efficiency and competitiveness serve to actively marginalize small states within the global community. Presenting an alternative framework for assessing success, the book investigates how the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) can confront new challenges and perform a more developmental function, centring economic transformation and a more democratic process. The book also explores long-standing challenges with implementing regional decisions at the national level and the absence of avenues for citizens to influence the direction of the integration movement. It explores these themes against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the climate crisis which underscore the fragility of Caribbean economies, their high levels of indebtedness, weak social security systems, and their marginality. Bringing together decades of research from one of the world’s foremost scholars on the subject, this book will be essential reading for researchers of the Caribbean specifically, and for those with an interest in regionalism more generally, across the fields of political economy, international relations, history, geography, economics, and global development.

This publication contains a number of papers on issues which are key to Caribbean survival and prosperity. They critically review the challenges facing Member States of CARICOM. Written by a number of outstanding authors of recognized academic pedigree, these analyses look at the Region across a spectrum of issues: political, economic, social and environmental, among others. Attention is focused on efforts at regional integration as well as on the options to be pursued be CARICOM if it is to survive in the new political, economic and social dispensation. The book is replete with insightful; presentations on the evolution of the Community at this point in its history.