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Small Island States in the Pacific: the Tyranny of Distance

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  • Mr. Chris Becker

Abstract

This paper seeks to document key characteristics of small island states in the Pacific. It restricts itself to a limited number of indicators which are macro-orientated - population, fertility of land, ability to tap into economies of scale, income, and geographic isolation. It leaves aside equally important but more micro-orientated variables and development indicators. We show that small island states in the Pacific are different from countries in other regional groupings in that they are extremely isolated and have limited scope to tap economies of scale due to small populations. They often have little arable land. There is empirical evidence to suggest that these factors are related to income growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Chris Becker, 2012. "Small Island States in the Pacific: the Tyranny of Distance," IMF Working Papers 2012/223, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2012/223
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mayer, Thierry & Zignago, Soledad, 2006. "Notes on CEPII’s distances measures," MPRA Paper 26469, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. S. Kuznets, 1960. "Economic Growth Of Small Nations," International Economic Association Series, in: E. A. G. Robinson (ed.), Economic Consequences of the Size of Nations, chapter 0, pages 14-32, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Mr. Yiqun Wu & Ms. Patrizia Tumbarello & Niamh Sheridan, 2012. "Global and Regional Spillovers to Pacific Island Countries," IMF Working Papers 2012/154, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Oecd, 2001. "The Internet and Business Performance," OECD Digital Economy Papers 57, OECD Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. L. DeBenedictis & Am Pinna, 2015. "Islands as 'Bad Geography'. Insularity, Connectedness, Trade Costs and Trade," Working Paper CRENoS 201504, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    2. Adam Gorajek, 2019. "The Well-meaning Economist," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2019-08, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    3. Carneiro,Francisco Galrao & Hnatkovska,Viktoria, 2016. "Business cycles in the eastern Caribbean economies: the role of fiscal policy and interest rates," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7545, The World Bank.
    4. Kellermann, Kersten & Schlag, Carsten-Henning, 2012. "Small, Smart, Special: Der Mikrostaat Liechtenstein und sein Budget," KOFL Working Papers 13, Konjunkturforschungsstelle Liechtenstein (KOFL), Vaduz.
    5. Ms. Patrizia Tumbarello & Ezequiel Cabezon & Mr. Yiqun Wu, 2013. "Are the Asia and Pacific Small States Different from Other Small States?," IMF Working Papers 2013/123, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Giovanni Ruggieri & Patrizia Calò, 2022. "Tourism Dynamics and Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis between Mediterranean Islands—Evidence for Post-COVID-19 Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, March.

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