Ten websites with up-to-date information on Caribbean development topics

All too often when searching for information on development issues in the Caribbean do we arrive at the list of results, only to discover that the latest uploaded paper, blog, news article, event notification, etc. was written in 2006 or earlier.  Or when researching a particular issue concerning the Caribbean, we get sucked into a long list of documents capturing all of the countries in the Americas.

The good news is that there are digital spaces where recent publications on the Caribbean are plentiful. While this list is not exhaustive, it can provide a shortcut to some of those places. A few of these resources are subscription only, yet these publications can be very helpful to researchers.

1. International Monetary Fund – Publications on the Caribbean
   This collection of publications focuses on the Caribbean as a whole but, if you are looking for specific countries, check out their country pages.
2. World Bank – Research on the Caribbean and the Open Knowledge Repository
3. Economist Intelligence Unit (subscription needed)
   The EIU’s country reports provide current data on smaller nations in the Americas.
4. Caribbean Update (subscription needed, email the publisher to request access)
   These monthly newsletters leave you with short content about new political and economic developments, as well as business opportunities.
5. Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance – Monthly newsletter
   This newsletter discusses regional economic growth performance, banking and finance, public debt, balance of payments.
6. ECLAC in the Caribbean – Documents and Publications
   Publications are available for various topics, including disaster management, economic integration, knowledge management, social development, statistics and sustainable development.
7. Business Monitor International – Caribbean Monitor (subscription needed)
   Monthly analysis on political risk assessment, economic forecasts and business analysis includes smaller economies.
8. Emerging Markets Information Service (subscription needed)
   This database contains private sector information and industry reports.
9. UWI’s Journal of Business, Finance and Economics in Emerging Economies  made with the Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance
   While this source may not have the most current publications on the Caribbean (the latest issue is from 2012), the content is fully focused on the Caribbean’s financial and monetary policies.
10. The Inter-American Development Bank!
    The CaribEconomics box on the right contains the most updated publications that our economists are working on. You can also check out this research portal, the Caribbean InfoGuide, where more resources are listed.

Hopefully, this suggested list might inspire you to write a note in the comments letting us know where else you find current and accurate information about Caribbean development trends.

Sarah Berg is a Sector Librarian from the Felipe Herrera Library based in Washington D.C. at IDB’s Headquarters.