IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/glecon/v10y2010i2n7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Assessment of Barbados' Competitiveness within the EU Market 1992-2006

Author

Listed:
  • Lorde Troy

    (The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados)

  • Alleyne Antonio

    (Research and Planning Unit, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Barbados)

  • Francis Brian

    (The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados)

Abstract

This paper assesses Barbados' competitiveness within the EU market in light of its recent signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU in 2008. Using SITC data from 1992-2006, indices of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) were calculated. We found that Barbados possesses comparative advantages in Live Animals; Raw Sugars, Beet and Cane; and Spirits. However, policies such as the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), stringent sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, onerous rules of origin and non-tariff barriers including technical barriers to trade, threaten to undermine these advantages. These developments strongly suggest that Barbados must move agriculture up the value chain and increase value-added, as well as integrate it more fully with other sectors of its economy. Greater attention must be focused on countries in the EU other than the UK, if full advantage is to be taken of the EPA, as the UK market is already mature. There is evidence that export opportunities to these countries exist in other commodity groups (Fuels, Lubricants, etc.; Animal, Vegetable Oils Fats, Wax; Chemicals, Related Products; Manufactured Goods). When these issues are placed within the context of Barbados' history of weak capacity to take advantage of the market access opportunities available from their trading arrangements, the overarching challenge for Barbados is one of effective market access. This will require, among other things, a capable export promotion agency. The export of non-traditional commodities should be promoted, and greater support, perhaps in the form of incentives, should be provided to large firms that are not yet exporters to encourage them to look beyond the domestic market.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorde Troy & Alleyne Antonio & Francis Brian, 2010. "An Assessment of Barbados' Competitiveness within the EU Market 1992-2006," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 1-24, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:glecon:v:10:y:2010:i:2:n:7
    DOI: 10.2202/1524-5861.1574
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2202/1524-5861.1574
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2202/1524-5861.1574?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Denny Lewis & Alan Webster, 2001. "Export Specialisation in the Caribbean and its Implications for Trade Negotiations," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 809-828, June.
    2. Salvatore Dominick, 2004. "Globalization, Comparative Advantage, and Europe's Double Competitive Squeeze," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Vollrath, Thomas L., 1989. "Competitiveness and Protection in World Agriculture," Agricultural Information Bulletins 309494, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. J. David Richardson & Chi Zhang, 1999. "Revealing Comparative Advantage: Chaotic or Coherent Patterns Across Time and Sector and U.S. Trading Partner?," NBER Working Papers 7212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Pomfret, Richard, 1981. "The Impact of EEC Enlargement on Non-member Mediterranean Countries' Exports to the EEC," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(363), pages 726-729, September.
    6. Ballance, Robert H & Forstner, Helmut & Murray, Tracy, 1987. "Consistency Tests of Alternative Measures of Comparative Advantage," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 157-161, February.
    7. Imre Fertö & L. J. Hubbard, 2003. "Revealed Comparative Advantage and Competitiveness in Hungarian Agri–Food Sectors," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 247-259, February.
    8. Finger, J M & Kreinin, M E, 1979. "A Measure of 'Export Similarity' and Its Possible Uses," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 89(356), pages 905-912, December.
    9. Clark Don P. & Sawyer W. Charles & Sprinkle Richard L, 2005. "Revealed Comparative Advantage Indexes for Regions of the United States," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-26, March.
    10. Hoekman, Bernard & Djankov, Simeon, 1997. "Determinants of the Export Structure of Countries in Central and Eastern Europe," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 11(3), pages 471-487, September.
    11. Balassa, Bela, 1979. "The Changing Pattern of Comparative Advantage in Manufactured Goods," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 61(2), pages 259-266, May.
    12. Karmakar Suparna, 2007. "Services Trade Liberalisation and Domestic Regulations: The Developing Country Conundrum," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-47, February.
    13. Thomas Vollrath, 1991. "A theoretical evaluation of alternative trade intensity measures of revealed comparative advantage," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 127(2), pages 265-280, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hunte, Kelly & Alleyne, Antonio & Lorde, Troy, 2014. "Should CARICOM Conclude a New Trade Agreement with Canada: A Case Analysis of Barbados-Canada Trade Negotiations," MPRA Paper 95556, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fertő, Imre & Hubbard, Lionel J., 2005. "Az agrárkereskedelem dinamikája - A csatlakozó országok esete [The dynamics of agri-food trade patterns - the accession countries case]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 24-38.
    2. Abhijit Sharma & Michael Dietrich, 2004. "The Indian Economy Since Liberalisation: the Structure and Composition of Exports and Industrial Transformation (1980 – 2000)," Working Papers 2004004, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics, revised May 2004.
    3. Amador, João & Cabral, Sónia & Ramos Maria, José, 2007. "International Trade Patterns over the Last Four Decades: How does Portugal Compare with other Cohesion Countries?," MPRA Paper 5996, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Martin Grančay & Tomáš Dudáš, 2019. "Bilateral trade flows and comparative advantage: does the size matter?," Society and Economy, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 41(4), pages 397-413, December.
    5. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Shimamoto, Kenichi, 2005. "Why the grass is not always greener: the competing effects of environmental regulations and factor intensities on US specialization," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 95-109, July.
    6. Bernardina Algieri & Antonio Aquino & Marianna Succurro, 2022. "Trade Specialisation and Changing Patterns of Comparative Advantages in Manufactured Goods," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(3), pages 607-667, November.
    7. Elsa Leromain & Gianluca Orefice, 2014. "New revealed comparative advantage index: Dataset and empirical distribution," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 139, pages 48-70.
    8. Gordeev, Roman, 2020. "Comparative advantages of Russian forest products on the global market," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Olivera Kostoska & Ilija Hristoski, 2018. "Trade Dynamics, Revealed Comparative Advantage, And International Competitiveness: Evidence From Macedonia," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 63(218), pages 23-60, July – Se.
    10. Regmi, Anita & Gehlhar, Mark J. & Wainio, John & Vollrath, Thomas L. & Johnston, Paul V. & Kathuria, Nitin, 2005. "Market Access For High-Value Foods," Agricultural Economic Reports 33999, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Fertő, Imre & Hubbard, Lionel J., 2001. "Versenyképesség és komparatív előnyök a magyar mezőgazdaságban [Competitiveness and comparative advantage in Hungarian agriculture]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 31-43.
    12. Levkovych, Inna, 2011. "Der ukrainische Außenhandel mit Produkten der Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft: Eine quantitative Analyse aus Sicht traditioneller und neuer Außenhandelstheorien," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 59, number 109520.
    13. M A Cole & R J R Elliott & K Shimamoto, 2003. "US Specialization in Pollution-Intensive Industries: Factor Intensities versus Environmental Regulations," Economics Discussion Paper Series 0321, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    14. Imre Ferto & Lionel J. Hubbard, 2001. "Competitiveness and comparative advantage in Hungarian agriculture," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 0102, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    15. Liu, Bin & Gao, Jianbo, 2019. "Understanding the non-Gaussian distribution of revealed comparative advantage index and its alternatives," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 1-11.
    16. Sarath Chandran, B.P., 2010. "Trade Compatibility Between India And Asean Countries," MPRA Paper 33138, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Lorde Troy & Francis Brian & Alleyne Antonio, 2015. "An Assessment of International Competitiveness in CARICOM Services Exports," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 15(4), pages 525-558, December.
    18. repec:ptu:bdpart:a200614 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Ferto, Imre & Hubbard, Lionel J., 2003. "The Dynamics Of Agri-Food Trade Patterns - The Hungarian Case," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25851, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Beňo, Michal, 2021. "E-working: Country Versus Culture Dimension," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 13(2), June.
    21. Noland, Marcus, 1997. "Has Asian export performance been unique?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1-2), pages 79-101, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:glecon:v:10:y:2010:i:2:n:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.