Although many business owners lament the rampant corruption in the Caribbean, the term corruption can range from bribery (whereby government officials demand illicit payments from individuals or businesses to perform an official task) to unproductive rent-seeking (whereby bureaucrats and parliamentarians favor certain private interests for their legal or illegal lobbying. This … [Read more...] about Are Governments an Advantage for Some Firms, Yet a Disadvantage for Others?
Inder Jit Ruprah
Move over Engineers, the Girls are coming!
Many of us unconsciously remain prisoners of the past even as reality has changed. We suffer from thinking that some professions are for men and others for women. That is no longer true. In the Caribbean, there are increasingly more women enrolled in the University of West Indies than men -- a pattern that has repeated in practically all the individual … [Read more...] about Move over Engineers, the Girls are coming!
Caribbean Firms: The Path to Job Creation is Innovation
Firms play a key role in development through investments, engaging in trade, creating jobs, increasing productivity, and providing a wide range of goods and services needed to improve living standards. However, because of crime, Caribbean firms see their annual sales reduced by 6 percent. Undoubtedly, crime is an issue of concern for policy makers and citizens in the … [Read more...] about Caribbean Firms: The Path to Job Creation is Innovation
Brain Drain: Are we investing in the ‘right’ skills to keep our talent?
Caribbean countries invest a lot of economic resources in higher education. The rationale for investing public funds in education follows from the public and private expected returns: boost country-level growth and welfare, and increase productivity and earnings. However, if beneficiaries of public education migrate, these public and private returns are received by the host … [Read more...] about Brain Drain: Are we investing in the ‘right’ skills to keep our talent?
Caribbean Girls Run Tings: Boosting Sales Growth
Most studies on women-owned or -managed firms have found that such firms perform more poorly than do men-owned or -managed firms. However, a forthcoming report by the Inter-American Development Bank[1] has found some interesting data on Caribbean firms led by women. Indeed, unlike other regions in the world, Caribbean firms led by women have higher sales growth than firms led … [Read more...] about Caribbean Girls Run Tings: Boosting Sales Growth