Download (28Mb) - LSE Theses Online

Figure 6.9 Micro Economies; average annual percentage growth in real per
capita GDP 1951-63.
6% T
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
-1%
Trinidad Barbados Cyprus Malta Fiji Mauritius
&
Tobago
Source.whete poMtbk: Summen Sl Heilen, "Penn WorklTablet (PWT) vfcriion 5.6 (corubiu 1985 prirri. cltain index): cxceptiom: Baibadoi ÄPijimarket x me chi
1951-60 ajidppptht» 1961-63, Malleie growth nie frem 1955-63.
Sachs and Warner have said "very few developing countries remained relatively
open since World War II or since independence" and named only seven of which
Barbados, Cyprus and Mauritius were three 37 . (There was no mention of Fiji in
their analysis, but of Malta they said there was insufficient data 38 and of Trinidad
and Tobago, the fastest growing small economy in the period 1950 to 1965, they
say it was "never open" 39 , which may go some way to explain its subséquent
performance). Generally, openness to international trade reveals the level of
integration into the world economy, which says something about productivity, levels
of market distortion, monetary conditions 40
and rent seeking (or the lack of it).
Below, in Figure 6.10, Cyprus is seen as the least open of the Micro Economies,
suggesting that ail other things being equal, Cyprus was likely to grow more slowly
than the other économies.
37 Sachs & Warner 1995. op. cit., p.4.
38 ibid., p.86.
39 • •
Trinidad and Tobago fails to be classified as open by Sachs and Warner (1995. op. cit.) because of
exchange controls which meant that an average black market exchange rate premium existed in the
1970s of 22% and in the 1980's of 45%. op. cit., pp.23, 25 & 92. About another country that failed
on similar grounds they wrote: Botswana failed to qualify on the basis of its black market premium
for the 1970's, but did qualify for the 1980's. It passed ail other criteria. Overall, therefore, the
policies have been relatively open... " ibid., p.45.
40 Boltho, A. 1996. "The Assessment: International Competitiveness", Oxford Review of Economic
Policy, Vol. 12, No. 3, (Autumn), pp. 1-16.
310