SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER, 2014 – UWI TODAY
5
ENERGY
ENERGY
Conference on the Economy (COTE) 2014
RESEARCH
M a n y d e v e l o p i n g
countries
face the issue
of underdevelopment
and enormous difficulties
i n t h e i r e f f o r t s t o
industrialize. This speaks
to the existence of a
structural gap between
developed and developing
economies.The key for the
convergence of these economies is more insight into the
evolution of technology and the diffusion of the conditions
of effective technological catch up.
Sir Arthur Lewis in his proposals for the development
of Caribbean economies believed that to remove this
gap between countries, developing economies should
adopt a policy of industrialisation by invitation; wooing
and fawning to attract expertise and technology from
developed economies and attain their knowledge “tricks
of the trade.”
One of the strategies under industrialization by
invitation was the development of industrial policy. Itoh in
1988 defined industrial policy as a policy that attempts to
achieve the national economic and non economic goals of
a country. This is done via policies designed to intervene in
the allocation of resources among industries or sectors of
the country, or in the organization of an industry or sector.
These policies are often pursued due to the existence of
market failure in the national or international factor and
product markets.
The late Professor Dennis Pantin identified Small
Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean as having
commonalities; heavy dependence on natural resources,
high levels of debt and vulnerability to natural disasters,
whichmade it difficult for them to compete internationally.
In his attempts to provide solid recommendations, he
married policies on technology and industrialization with
the tenets of sustainable development. Pantin stressed
the importance of effectively maximizing the benefits of
natural resources (renewable and nonrenewable) and at
the same time using technological capabilities. Following
the recommendation of Sir Arthur, Pantin proposed two
strategies for industrialization of the Caribbean region;
targeting of external markets and products which included
the identifying and assisting of existing industries and new
industries, and to craft appropriate national, macro policies
to steer foreign and local investors towards these targeted
areas.
In 1983, Pantin highlighted the need for utilization
of an indigenous technological capability in the fruit and
vegetable processing industry in the Caribbean and in
1987 further went on to develop a framework that included
ECONOMICS
Technology and Industrial Policy
b y K e r o n V i c t o r
strategies for acquiring technology. His idea of technological
advancements was not limited to the optimal utilization of
primary resources or industrial policies, but also included
a people oriented aspect; the development of human capital
which is vital to economic development objectives.
Whilst many Caribbean countries have incorporated
attempts to develop techno-industrial policies that
highlight that economic transition to the development of
technological and scientific capabilities of the Caribbean,
many barriers still exist. In addition to the difficulties of
implementing theoretical driven recommendations, there
also exist hurdles which notably includes economic (debt),
environmental and social challenges. One of the potential
obstacles Pantin identified in attaining this capability was
the appraisal of political economic conditions that can limit
an embrace of a technologically based industrial strategy
for the region’s economic transformation. Dennis Pantin
was also profoundly convinced that only through regional
integration could the Caribbean experience true economic
development.
Professor Dennis Pantin’s
ideas will be the focus for
discussion at
COTE 2014
with the theme
‘Addressing
Contemporary Local and Regional Challenges for
Sustainable Development’.
This conference is hosted
by the Department of Economics, UWI, St. Augustine.
Keron Victor has an MSc in Economics and is a Teaching Assistant with the Department of Economics, UWI, St. Augustine.
His research interests are Social Economics, Urbanisation and Crime.
In March this year,
nine students from the Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering went off to Villa Bay
in St Vincent for the annual Coastal Metrics field trip. Villa
Bay was selected because it will form part of the proposed
South Coast Marine Park (SCMP) identified by theNational
Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority (NPRBA) as one of
the of four new marine parks planned for the mainland
of St. Vincent.
In addition, there are no hydrographic and
oceanographic data available for the proposed SCMP. Figure
1 shows Villa Bay, which is sheltered by offshore islands
in the south and a coral reef in the east. However due to
the absence of an airport in the 1960s, a channel was cut
through the reef to allow seaplanes to land. The opening of
this channel has resulted in strong currents entering the bay
and removing sediments from the beach. Over the years,
the beach has become very narrow: a mere 8m. The loss of
beach sediments through erosion has caused hoteliers to
construct seawalls along the coast (Figure 1).
On the first day of the field trip, the group attended
a meeting with the Permanent Secretary and the Chief
Engineer of the Ministry of Transport, Works, Urban
Development and Local Government. They explained the
coastal issues facing the island one of which was the heavy
rains which caused severe damage to communities in
December 2013. In addition there was a swell event during
that period which impacted the east coast of the island.
As such, the group undertook a tour of the east coast of
St Vincent to view erosion sites and coastal protection
structures.
Study Area, Villa Bay located within the Proposed
South Coast Marine Park, St Vincent.
For three days, the students collected information for
their coursework project.The purpose of the data collection
exercise was to train the students to use equipment to collect
data on the bathymetry, oceanography (tide, waves and
water circulation), environmental water quality, beach and
sediment dynamics of the marine and coastal areas of Villa
Bay. At the end they presented the preliminary findings to
staff at government ministries.
Off to Villa Bay
B y C h a r m a i n e O ’ B r i e n - D e l p e s h
Lecturer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Seawalls constructed along coastline
