Abstract Three 2013

GLOBAL

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

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Volume Seven Winter-Spring 2012-2013 Numbers 1-2.

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THE CARIBBEAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: PROSPECTS FOR GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS IN MEDICAL TOURISM SERVICES IN THE CARIBBEAN

Natallie Rochester King

Technical Adviser, Services Specialist

Office of Trade Negotiations (Jamaica)

CARICOM Secretariat

Published online: February 10, 2017

ABSTRACT

Caribbean states are open traders due to small size, geography, and location. They rely on foreign investment, intermediate services, and other inputs for certain service industries such as telecommunications and related information and communication technologies, financial services, and tourism. As the Caribbean region attempts to shift from its post-colonial trading relationships, and to mitigate the vulnerability of the mainstay tourism and financial industries, strategic positioning in global value chains (GVCs) presents an option for achieving economic diversification and growth. Caribbean states are at varying stages in the process of domestic policy and regulatory development aimed at stimulating investment and commerce. Given the increasing geographic fragmentation of business operations leading up to the delivery of goods and services to consumers, the region should be deliberate in creating a policy and regulatory framework that facilitates multiple global value chains. This article examines the Caribbean business and economic environment with particular focus on the prospects for global value chains in services. With reference to the main services sectors engaged in global value chains in the Caribbean, the article will assess the importance of global value chains in enhancing Caribbean competitiveness, economic development and trade.