SUNDAY 7 APRIL 2019 – UWI TODAY
5
CAMPUS NEWS
It’s been one of the most persistent challenges
facing
Caribbean society - how to free our economies from
dependence on a few industries and commodities.
Diversification has been a priority for policymakers,
planners and academics for decades. Yet progress has been
remarkably slow. Why? How do we change?
A brand new book written by a diverse group of
scholars from UWI St Augustine and edited by Professor
AnnMarie Bissessar, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
(FSS), uses a fresh approach to answer these questions and
provide policymakers with workable solutions. Instead of
examining diversification as a purely economic problem
the multidisciplinary team looks at the issue from a range
of perspectives - risk and financing, politics, community
development, corruption and many others. Its title is
Development, Political, and Economic Difficulties in the
Caribbean
.
“We have a lot of things written about diversification
- usually from the economic and planning perspective,”
says Professor Bissessar. “This book is different because it
incorporates different academic ideas on diversification.”
Development
was published by PalgraveMacmillan and
contains 16 chapters with different areas of focus relating
to diversification. Topics include portfolio management,
human capital, tourism, sustainable agriculture, austerity,
the global recession and parliamentary committees, among
others. Apart fromTrinidad it looked at Jamaica, Cuba and
Martinique.
The articles are written by emerging scholars and
graduate students. This was intentional:
“I thought this book was an avenue to hone the skills
of the new academics, the young academics,” says the FSS
Dean. “It is difficult to make a breakthrough in the world
of academia. This book gives these young academics the
opportunity to publish with a reputable publisher.”
OnMarch 21 a book launch for
Development
was held
at the FSS Lounge on campus. Senior economist Winston
Dookeran, UWI’s Professor of Practice for International
Diplomacy, said in his remarks at the launch:
“This book is a most welcome contribution and
perhaps a preface to a project on Caribbean Convergence.
In focusing on the diversification challenge of the region,
the ideas lead naturally to capturing new economic space,
so essential for making strategic choices on the future of
the Caribbean economy…”
Professor Bissessar, who also wrote
Development’s
first and final chapters, would like to see the findings and
prescriptions in the book utilised by region’s governments.
Like many others she is deeply concerned about the
condition of Caribbean society and sees diversification as
crucial for the region’s well-being.
“If we do not diversify we are going down a dangerous
path,” she says.
She is however hopeful that broad-based solutions that
include not only governments and the private sector, but
also the citizenry themselves can bring about the change
that has remained so elusive for all these years.
(Joel Henry)
A novel approach to the elusive
GOAL OF DIVERSIFICATION
Professor Bissessar gives a copy of the book
Development, Political, and Economic Difficulties in the Caribbean
to Campus Librarian of the
Alma Jordan Library Frank Soodeen.
PHOTO: ANEEL KARIM
