top of page

                                                                                     GLOBAL

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

                                                                            Copyright © 2013 International Development Options

                                                                                                 All Rights Reserved

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

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

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________     

    BILATERAL MARGINAL INTRA INDUSTRY TRADE (MIIT): SELECTED CARICOM CASES

 

     Roger Hosein                                             Ranita Seecharan

    Senior Lecturer                                           PhD. Student

    Trade and Economic                                  Trade and Economic

    Development Unit                                       Development Unit

    Department of Economics                          Department of Economics

    University of the West Indies                      University of the West Indies

    St. Augustine, Trinidad                                St. Augustine, Trinidad

 

    Published online: February 10, 2017

 

 ABSTRACT

As the first functional regional integration arrangement for the Caribbean, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) stands as a conduit for strengthening intra-regional trade. Concurrent variations in the intensity and pattern of intra CARICOM trade flows have spurred substantial research in this area. Much, if not all, of these empirical studies, though, have focused on the Heckscher Olin strand of trade theory with only a handful solely investigative of the second strand; that of intra industry trade. This burgeoning empirical gap has provided motivation to this article, which investigates the extent of bilateral marginal intra industry trade (MIIT) among five CARICOM trading partners: Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados and St. Lucia. Five established indices are employed for the period 1973 to 2010 at the 3-digit level of disaggregation. Indeed, this article represents the first time an empirical study of this nature has been undertaken for the Caribbean in terms of time coverage, number of countries studied, and commodity composition. The article will also investigate the relative success of the CARICOM arrangement in engendering stronger intra industry trade (IIT); thereafter, relevant policy recommendations including establishing suitable transportation networks, an industrial cluster initiative based on an agro-tourism cluster, the development of special economic zones, and public private partnership initiatives will be purported to boost IIT within the region.

 

bottom of page