The Diaspora’s economic contribution to the Caribbean

The Caribbean has one of the largest net migration rates, globally, and has evolved from being a net importer of labour to a net exporter. The widening of the income gap within different regions in the world as well as an increase in labour shortages has spurred a continued increase in migration rates in the Caribbean region creating a diaspora that spans the continents of North America and Europe as well as countries that were previously colonial empires. The diaspora is extensive, well-educated with diverse potential. Due to the common heritage and strong connections across the region, they overwhelmingly take a regional approach to the Caribbean, rather than a nationalistic one. Supported by the right incentives and policies, diaspora members could play an even larger role in contributing to the region’s development.

The Caribbean region, like many other small and developing regions, has been negatively impacted by the global economic and financial crisis in terms of declining export markets and foreign exchange earnings, particularly in traditional sectors like agricultural and resource-based industries as well as services sectors like tourism and financial services. The Caribbean region has been suffering from low levels of structural transformation as exemplified by a decline in its global competitiveness over the last two decades when compared with other small states.

Globalization has brought with it the integration of systems, including the temporary and permanent movement of people across national borders. The Caribbean was created from migratory flows of people into the region. Evidence of this goes as far back as the arrival of Europeans in the Caribbean in 1492, which made an indelible mark on the region’s demographic composition. Many in the diaspora send remittances to the benefit of their home countries and a large percentage give back to the Caribbean either through financial help, investment, or other in kind support. There is also a growing community of angel investors among the diaspora that are already actively involved both where they live and back home

External migration from the Caribbean has continued to increase over the years, with significant levels of migration occurring from countries such as, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, and St Lucia. It has been argued that the Caribbean has lost some five million people over the last 50 years. Data provided by the United Nations (2002) suggest that the Caribbean has one of the largest net migration rates which is spurred by the widening of the income gap among different regions in the world as well as an increase in labour shortages. Nurse (2006) has argued that the Caribbean is now a net exporter of labour. The majority of migrants from the English-speaking Caribbean originate from the OECS countries, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti and Suriname. Migration offers benefits and disadvantages to the home and host countries as well as the migrants. However, the Caribbean region is yet to tap into many of the benefits of migration. There is a large number of resources and wealth available for the home country to tap into so as to facilitate the development process in the Caribbean.

The growth of diasporas in the last few decades has led to a new development context with economic flows like financial transfers (remittances) playing a critical role in poverty reduction, enterprise development as well as the securitization of debt. For many countries remittances have exceeded traditional modes of external inflows like foreign aid, foreign direct investment, and external borrowing. This is only the tip of the iceberg given that the diasporic economy is wider than financial transfers from remittances and includes telecoms, tourism, transportation, and trade in nostalgic, ethnic, or niche goods.

Migration, which is usually examined in a negative light, has now created an avenue for development through the Caribbean diaspora which has the potential to contribute to the economic development of the Caribbean region via diaspora tourism, trade, investments, and economic and social transfers. While the Caribbean diaspora has been contributing significantly via remittances, there still exists a wealth of resources the region can tap into.

Subrina Hall Azih is a Trinidadian educator residing in New York.