Caribbean Region: Review of Economic Growth and ... - USITC

Overview of Other Major non-U.S. Policies and InstitutionsAffecting Trade and Economic Growth and Development inCBERA CountriesThe World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the CaribbeanDevelopment Bank provide significant development assistance to countries in the Caribbeanregion. The Caribbean Community and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States areregional organizations with the goal of integrating the Caribbean economies to promoteeconomic development and to allow these small economies to better exploit factors ofproduction (labor, natural resources, and capital) and achieve a more competitive positionin the global economy. The European Union (EU) has signed free trade agreements withCaribbean countries to liberalize trade in goods and services on a bilateral basis as well asto provide EU support for the development of the Caribbean tourism sector.World BankThe World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries, andis made up of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and theInternational Development Association (IDA). Although both focus on global povertyreduction and the improvement of living standards, the IBRD focuses on middle income andcreditworthy poor countries, while the IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world.These banks provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developingcountries for education, health, infrastructure, communications, and other development74purposes. In fiscal year 2007, the World Bank provided $4.6 billion in funding for LatinAmerica and the Caribbean region. Of the 18 countries covered in this report, 14 are75 76members of the World Bank, and 12 are currently eligible for World Bank borrowing.Table 2.17 summarizes IBRD and IDA cumulative lending for the countries covered in thisreport. (See app. F, table F.2 under “World Bank” for examples of funding areas.)Inter-American Development BankEstablished in 1959, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is the oldest and largestregional bank in the world and the main source of multilateral financing for economic,77social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. By the end of2007, the IDB had approved more than $156 billion in loans and guarantees for projects74World Bank, “About Us,” www.worldbank.org (accessed March 5, 2008).75Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica,Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. WorldBank, “About Us: Members,” www.worldbank.org (accessed March 5, 2008).76Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis,St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. World Bank, “Latin American and theCaribbean: Countries Eligible for World Bank Borrowing,” Annual Report 2007, www.worldbank.org(accessed March 5, 2008).77IDB, “What is the IDB?” www.iadb.org (accessed March 5, 2008).2-33