Caribbean

The Impact of Covid-19 in Central America and the Caribbean - Evidence to Date

This study uses changes in the Human Development Index (HDI) between 2019 and 2021 as an early (and incomplete) indicator of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the countries of Central America and the Caribbean (CAC). The HDI, which has been published annually by the United Nations Development Programme since 1990, combines indices of the purchasing power of average national incomes (measured in US dollars), life expectancy, and average years of schooling, for each country. Except for Guyana and Nicaragua, the HDI score for every country in the CAC declined.

Economic Progress in Central America and the Caribbean in the Past 30 Years

This study assesses the economic performance of Central American and a selection of Caribbean (CAC) countries over the past 30 years, using the Human Development Index as the measure of gains in the overall well-being of their populations. The majority of CAC populations are in the categories of High and Very High Human Development, and there has been steady improvement in almost every case. Growth in real GDP per capita was strongest in the countries that export manufactured goods, along with significant receipts from tourism and other activities.

China in the Caribbean’s Economic Future

The remarkable surge in Chinese economic productivity, especially since the turn of the century, has been of material benefit to every economy in the world trading system, and the Caribbean has shared in those benefits. The most substantial benefit to the Caribbean from the relationship with China has been via the purchase of more affordable products made in China or made with Chinese inputs. The Caribbean has secured additional imports that may be of the order of five to ten per cent, compared with what the same money would have bought from alternative sources.

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