Bahamian Economy

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Bahamian Economy
The Bahamas is among the Caribbean countries whose economy strongly depend on offshore banking and tourism. The Bahamian economy is primarily based on tourism, which is mainly concentrated in Grand Bahama and Nassau. As per the Economist intellect Unit, construction and tourism are largely liable for an actual annual growth of about four percent in GDP since 1996, which positions the Bahamas amongst the world’s prominent financial centers (Fraser 10). After the Hurricane Floy impact, in less than three working days, the sector regained its full strength and made an incredible contribution to tragedy relief efforts, both through financial organizations and individuals. Tourism alone contributes more than sixty percent of GDP and indirectly or directly employs nearly half of the labor force in the archipelago. Stable progress in tourism revenues and a thriving building of new resorts, hotels, and habitations have triggered a firm GDP growth in latest years. Agriculture and manufacturing together contribute roughly ten percent of GDP and indicate little growth, in spite of the government incentives meant for those sectors. General growth projections in the short run depend deeply on the treasures from the sector of tourism, which is subject to the growth in the United States, where the majority of tourist visitors come from. Therefore, in this paper, I will compare and contrast Bahamian economy and geography with that of other Caribbean countries particularly Jamaica and Cuba.

There’re many drawbacks that arise from a small dimension, which are exaggerated by the reality that various island nations aren’t only small in size, but are made up of other small islands. Those detriments comprise of limited resources, which compels undue specialism; excessive reliance on global trade and therefore vulnerability to international developments (Fraser 18). Contrary to the backdrop of rule-based and more liberalized global economy, susceptibility, as it relates to the incorporation of developing countries into the global community, has arisen as a vital reality, mainly for island nations that are small.
Numerous youthful in civil independence, for these nations, today’s encounter of advancement is for a monetary independence centered on viable development and their economies’ projections for prosperity (Baumgarten 28). The Bahamas is among these small island countries and moreover, it’s a small-size island state that is comprised of numerous islands. Most Caribbean countries are small by conservative standards. Due to that reason, they altogether face the mutual constraints of dimension including susceptibility to natural disasters and external shocks. Nevertheless, some of the states have performed better economically compared to others. This paper explores some aspects that may explain the greater performance of some states.
The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cuba are all developing countries. Tourism serves a significant role as revenue for their own economy. They are all islands and are rich in wildlife and forestry. The three countries’ financial prudence have benefited immensely from strong international and regional trade relationships (Diane 14). The countries are small in size and therefore, this reality has made it almost difficult for any of the three nations to yield all of the products that its firms and citizens need on their own. Business and trade are important for the endurance of Caribbean economies and therefore multiple trade partnerships have been established in the area, all aiming at removing trade barriers, like quotas and tariffs, amongst member states. The “organization of Eastern Caribbean States” and the “Caribbean Community and Common Market” are most prevalent trade blocs. They also have trade agreements with European Union members and this aids disclose this small frugality to broader markets. The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cuba have limited natural resources. Therefore, they may not be in a position to raise more foreign currency through exporting as that would lead to depletion of the limited resources that they have. On numerous occurrences, natural tragedies have hindered economic growth in the Caribbean where the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cuba belong. Due to the geographic situation of the area, fundamentally all economies of Caribbean are vulnerable to the hazardous powers of nature. Between the months of November and June, storms threaten these island nations (Fraser 41). In addition, there’s always the probability of a volcanic explosion or earthquake happening without much caution.
In short, both governments and businesses constantly want to be ready for unexpected occasions that can bring about a sudden damage to much-required infrastructure, irreplaceable lives, and valuable capital. When Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cuba face a natural tragedy, the government is compelled to share its limited monetary resources to rebuild the frugality by repairing destruction (Pearson 17). Thus, several incidences of natural tragedies will be an outcome in the unproductive utilization of capital and could hamper long-term economic progress. In addition, a main action of God would cause funds assigned to social amenities, like education and healthcare, to be decreased and therefore reduce the nation’s living standards. For instance, Hurricane Ivan that occurred in 2004 triggered over $360 million value of destruction to infrastructure and property in Jamaica alone. Instead of repaying debt or investing the money in raising the island’s capacity of production, the monies had to be utilized just to return the island to the condition it was before the Hurricane Ivan.
Despite the similarities among the Caribbean countries, specifically Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cuba in terms of economy and geography. They still have significant differences. The economy of Jamaica is heavily reliant on services, which contribute more than seventy percent of GDP. The nation continues to grow most of its overseas exchange from remittance, tourism, and alumina/bauxite. Earnings from tourism and remittances each contribute about five percent of GDP, while alumina/bauxite exports have dropped to less than five percent of GDP (Schmid 31). Therefore, the economy of Jamaica is mixed. Since the country got independence, it has developed unevenly and markedly. Manufacturing and mining became more significant to the economy in the late twentieth century as the export of commodities from agriculture declined.
However, Agriculture remains to be among the bases of the economy of the island, contributing approximately one-twentieth of the GDP and about a one-sixth of the labor force. The main crop grown in the country is sugarcane, together with its by-products rum and molasses. Fruits, comprising oranges, bananas, and coconuts are also significant. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, with the termination of Lomé convention treaties that had provided a protected marketplace for the bananas in Britain, the traditionally dominant banana business underwent reform to concentrate on the local marketplace. During this period, the government exported much of its stressed sugar businesses to a Chinese firm. Also, significant are squashes, coconuts, allspice, coffee, tobacco, cacao, and ginger. A renowned blue mountain coffee gourmet brand is processed by a chosen Jamaican firms. Marijuana is also grown illegally.
Production of timber doesn’t meet the nation’s needs and most of the cork, wood, and paper used is imported. The government often encourages afforestation. Fishing is also a main enterprise that supports thousands of individuals. In terms of power and resources, in central Jamaica, there are vast deposits of bauxite. In eastern Jamaica, there are marble, gypsum, and iron ore while in the west there are clays. Throughout the island, there is limestone, silica, and sand. Titanium is also found in Jamaica’s black sand. Other mineral resources comprise of copper, zinc, lead, gravel, phosphates, peat, and smaller amounts of lignite. Mining contributes just a small portion of employment and GDP, although the island is among world’s main producers of aluminum and bauxite. The island’s historical susceptibility to instabilities in the global frugality has been demonstrated in irregular prices and demand on the international aluminum market. Much of gypsum in Jamaica is mined for trade. Cement is utilized generally in the local building (Schmid 8). Manufacturing accounts for roughly one-eighth of the GDP and less than one-tenth of the labor force. The main products are processed foods, textiles, and metal products. Printing, chemicals, and cement and clay products are also notable.
The government of Jamaica is troubled by a big foreign debt. Until 1990, the Island’s dollar had a fairly stable rate of exchange comparative to the United States dollar. However, it was later radically devalued and floated. Trade in Jamaica constitutes around one-fourth of GDP and provides employment to one-sixth of the country’s labor force (“Investing in Jamaica” n.p). The key trading partner of Jamaica is the United States. However, China, Canada, Netherlands, Venezuela, Tobago and Trinidad, and the United Kingdom are also significant. Jamaica has tried to raise its portion of the region’s burgeoning service industry by promoting data processing and information technologies, principally for European and North American companies. The main roads in Jamaica encircle the country, traverse the mountains, and loop into the vales through three main north-south paths, and the Kingston urban area has a key community bus system. The country’s air transport has three main international airports (Harris 67). The airports handle both domestic and international flights. Therefore, the transport sector also contributes to the island’s economy.
Like Jamaica, Cuba is also a developing economy in the Caribbean region. However, Cuba is the globe’s last socialist dictatorships, and government regulation of the economy is prevalent and economically ineffective. Although the almost bankrupt administration has eased the regulations on private service in an attempt to reform the economy and increase efficiency, the growth of the employment-creating private industry is unlikely (Schmieg 20). Many employees perform low-productivity duties in the ballooned government sector. The courts face political intrusion, and private assets are strictly regulated. Extreme bureaucracy and nonexistence of regulatory transparency last to limit investment and trade. In Cuba, Trade is reasonably important to the economy. The combined worth of imports and exports equals thirty-two percent of GDP. The ordinarily applied tariff proportion is 7.7 percent. Nontariff barriers expressively impede trade. The government regulates and screens foreign investment. The financial industry is heavily controlled, and financial-market triviality severely hinders access to a loan for business activity. The government maintains exchange and capital controls. Before the 1959 socialist revolution, the economy of Cuba was described as unpredictable but lively. Although the country was among the biggest car and telephone importers, one-third of the population were poor (“The Cuban industry” 276). The people of Cuba entirely rely on the government to give food, housing, healthcare, and other primary needs. However, the administration has proved fairly incompetent in some capacities, which has prompted numerous Cubans to take issues into their individual hands. Cubans who possess informal businesses like a handyman service may capitalize on the shortcomings of the government. Some decide to manage their small enterprises without the complex government heavy tax and license hence risking being closed if and when caught (Sentinel n.p). The economy of Cuba is centrally planned and controlled by the administration. Nevertheless, that has not deterred all overseas investment. Businesses from foreign nations have invested in Cuban infrastructure, agriculture, nickel mining, tourism, and the sugar trade. Media is heavily regulated by Communist party. There’s no advertising except ad campaigns for leaders and billboards flattering communist. This affects the economy of the country as advertisements enable the private and public sector to disclose their products to the potential customers. Thus, this suppresses the level of demand and supply. The people have no variety to choose from in the market as there are no advertisements (Kolarich n.p). In terms of natural resources, the government is currently making steps in refining certain components of the environment, comprising their much-publicized biological farming and fresh permaculture system. The inability of Cuba to import chemical fertilizers and pesticides has aided to preserve their land’s health. Cuba has its own oil reserves. The country leases sections of the floor of the ocean to some other nations for exploration of oil, including Norway, Russia, and Vietnam. The people living in Florida and Cuba are concerned that Cuba may be unprepared for the spill of oil and that the drilling would harm the subtle ocean ecosystem. However, oil remains a feasible Cuba’s economic resource.
In contrast of Jamaica and Cuba, The Bahamas Island which is also a Caribbean country stands out as one of the nations with the highest GDP in the region. Despite the concentration of the people in towns that are dedicated to tourism, the old pattern of small fishing and farming prevails in certain villages, especially in the islands located in southeastern. Agriculture in the Bahamas contributes a small fraction of the country’s GDP and provides employment to a comparable percentage of the labor force (“Bahamas economy” n.p). The soils are shallow and therefore only a tiny proportion of the parcel of land is arable. Almost all food products are imported, mainly from the US. However, the country experiences a sunny climate that helps the cultivation of various fruits, comprising of guava, mango, pineapple, sea grape among others. Some sheep, cattle, and pigs are also raised. Mineral companies are restricted to the making of cement and salt. Electricity is entirely generated from imported liquefied natural gas and petroleum. Power-generating positions are located all over the islands. Manufacturing industries concentrate on the making of other liquor and rum. Other manufactures comprise pharmaceuticals and cement. Also, frozen spiny lobster and canned fruits are processed.
The Bahamas has the United States as its most significant trading partner. Other trading allies include Finland, Dominica, and France. Major imports comprise transport equipment and machinery, mineral fuels, and food products. The main exports are rock lobster and petroleum. Some countries and the European Union exempt some Bahamian produces from levies under the universal scheme of preferences. Tourism contributes to over one-third of the GDP and provides employment to around two-fifths of the labor force. Many trust companies and banks have been enticed to the country because there’re no corporate or income taxes and the secrecy of monetary transactions is assured. Public expenses are controlled by the administration’s reliance on indirect duties, which are taxed primarily on external trade and tourism (“Bahamas” n.p). The Bahamas currency is really the Bahamian dollar but the United States dollar is accepted all over the island. In the transport economy, a fleet of small vessels termed as mail boats transport freight, passengers, and mail among other Islands and Nassau. The Freeport and Nassau are the nation’s two key ports. Freeport has a vast container transshipment port. Many foreign freight and passenger ships visit Bahamian ports every year. Through the islands, there’re many airports, with variable facilities and accommodations. Most of these handle local airlines but global airports are situated at Exuma, Freeport, and Nassau. The international flights connect with various Bahamian islands. Thus, the transport industry both road and air contribute to the Bahamian economy.
Geography is regularly recognized as one feature clarifying economic performance. Scopes of this aspect include climate, islands-ness, expanse from the equator, locational or strategic importance, whether littoral or land-locked or the existence of large internal waterways and location relative to surrounding nations. Some nations could lie beside a liability line or in the hurricane zone like Caribbean countries (“Caribbean map” n.p). These exceptional geographical topographies of small countries will possess specific disadvantages or advantages. Islands have distinct challenges including greater transport costs and expensive internal communication. The strategic geographic situation is often suggested as a clarification of performance. For instance, a country could be located alongside the main trading route. The position of a nation relative to other states has also been identified as a probable factor describing economic performance. Precisely, if a deprived country were situated in a successful area of the earth, one would anticipate that its progress is prospective to eventually come to par with the affluent nations around it. The converse is also expected. If some republics are thriving, as their more well-off neighbors and others aren’t, then that is of interests.
In the Caribbean, Jamaica is termed as the third largest after Hispaniola and Cuba. The Island is mostly mountainous, with a discontinuous, narrow coastal plain. The Jamaica Island is ringed by many small cays, bays, and white-sand shores that stretch for long distance in some regions. Jamaica originated from volcanic activity and can be separated into three regions. These regions are the coastal plains, the plateaus and central valleys, and the eastern mountains (“Geography of Jamaica, Landforms – World Atlas” n.p). The Blue Mountains is the most elevated region. Two-thirds of Jamaica is covered by limestone plateau. There is a rugged terrain to the west of the mountains. It’s a dramatic, harsh landscape occupied by endless hills. Numerous streams and rivers originate from central highlands, however, majority disappear spasmodically into caves and karst sinkholes. Few waterways are passable for any lengthy distance, due to their speedy descent from the highlands. The longest rivers are Rio Minho and Black River. On the land, beneath the limestone, there are igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks. The narrow soils of numerous upland regions are particularly vulnerable to erosion. Sedimentary soils found on the shore plains chiefly comprise of deep clay and loam, and the valley floors are covered by residual clays. The Jamaica Island has numerous underground rivers. Therefore, the geography of the island is unique and hence attracts tourism. The land and nature of the geography influence other economic activities. Thus, the geography of a country really determines its economic performance.
Cuba is the most expansive single island in the Caribbean area. It is located in the south of Tropic of cancer at the joint of the Atlantic Ocean. The nearest country is Haiti. The island consists of an archipelago of around 1,600 islets, islands, and cays. Cuba forms a significant section of the Antilles. Around one-fourth of the Cuba Island is covered by groups of hills and mountains (Scarpaci 228). Near the island’s center, there are the highlands of Santa Clara, the Sierra de Trinidad, and Sierra de Escambray. The plains that cover approximately two-thirds of the country’s mainland is utilized extensively for tobacco and sugarcane cultivation and also livestock raising. The shore basins of Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba and the wide Cauto River valley is situated in the southeast. Hills, spotted with plantations of palm and pine, characterize considerably the island’s southeast and northwest. Clay and sand plains cover portions of north, a gravel ground cover most of the island’s southern part and bogs take over the coasts and sparingly inhabited interior. Cuban waterways are normally short, with the scanty flow; two-fifths release to the north, the remnants to the south. Cuba’s most extensive coastal wetlands are called Zapata peninsula. The complex Cuban geology and topography have formed at least thirteen distinct sets of soils, the majority are cultivated and are fertile through the year. Very fertile red sandstone soils spread to near Cienfuegos from west of Havana. The fertile soils are mainly used for economic activities and growing food for the people. The climate in Cuba is influenced by east-northeast winds during summer and northeast trade winds in winter (“The Republic of Cuba” n.p). This is because the island is located in the tropics. The island has many protected areas including national parks. Therefore, the geography of Cuba favors it in terms of tourism and farming. These are economic determiners and hence the contribution to Cuba’s economy.
On the other side, The Bahamas is a collection of some seven hundred islands and approximately two thousand and five hundred small cays or islets. About thirty of the islands are occupied. The two main population areas are the towns. The other populated cays and islands are referred to as family islands. The Bahamas has a mainland called Bimini that is close to the United States. The archipelago which is considered a portion of the Caribbean geographically and that encompasses the Bahamas is located in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropic of cancer passes via Great Bahama Bank and the Island of Great Exuma. The Bahama Island originated from coral reefs that came to be dry land when the level of sea dropped hundreds of centuries ago. The islands are mainly flat with long distances of pink and white sandy beaches (Saunders n.p).
Unlike Jamaica and Cuba, Bahamas doesn’t have rivers in some part because the island is entirely covered by calcium carbonate, which is mostly precipitated or produced by the coral reefs’ organisms. That’s why the Bahamas has the clearest waters in the globe with visibility above two hundred feet. Five percent of the earth’s coral could be found in the Bahamas waters. The Bahamian climate is mild through the year. This is the greatest attraction of the tourists in the area. Prevailing winds, flowing from the northeast in the winter and southeast in the summer, trigger a cooling impact to a normally humid atmosphere. Beautiful and extensive woodlands of Caribbean pine are set up on Grand Bahama. In some of the Bahamas islands, hardwood forests still exist. In other areas, the woody vegetation comprises of mostly low trees and shrubs. Animal natural life is dominated by lizards, frogs, and snakes that aren’t poisonous. Therefore, due to the nature of the land and the geography of the Bahamas Island, the nation is compelled to depend on tourism and services for economic growth. The Island has many tourist attraction sites and therefore that uniqueness gives it an upper hand as a tourism destination. Again, the Island is close to the United States thus making it easy for the tourists to cross to the Island. Therefore, the Bahamian economy is highly influenced by its geography and the terrain.
There are various issues that hinder the Bahamian economic growth. The Bahamas rely heavily on hydrocarbons for power generation. Given such a higher reliance, a reduction in the prices of oil must provide certain advantages in relation to cost. However, this would be balanced by a challenging geography, because of the widespread of archipelago and ineffective installed infrastructure which regularly sees blackouts (Saunders n.p). Such blackouts are costly as they may lead to huge loses in the economy. Again, the archipelagic layout of the Bahamas affects a vast area. The land isn’t habitable and therefore such idle regions would be useful and contribute to the nation’s economy. This layout is a setback to the Bahamian economy. With the sluggish growth and high costs, The Bahamas Island is losing the grip of its regional rivals in the tourism industry. The attention on the higher-end niche nevertheless distinguishes the Bahamas from the other destinations like Jamaica, and Cuba which get higher numbers of visitors. The improved relationship between Cuba and the United States may also pose some threat to the Bahamas in relation to the tourism flows in the future, though the same impact could affect the other Caribbean destinations. Given the significance of the tourism industry in the Bahamas, and bearing in mind the encounters it faces, the sector’s performance would be key to guarantee that the development outlook improves comparatively to latest years and the external accounts’ disparities go back to more maintainable levels.
The real GDP growth of the Bahamas has averaged one percent since the year 2011(“The Bahamas economy” n.p). The increasingly unstable tendency in the nation’s economic routine is due to the economy’s dependence on investment in huge scale tourism ventures. The weak performance in tourism serves as a drag on the country’s economy compounded by the Island’s high unemployment levels. The high unemployment levels lead to crime and drug abuse hence slowing the economic growth. Consequently, non-performing credits have increased significantly, specifically impacting mortgage loans. Credit growth has reduced considerably, as the demand from eligible borrowers has dropped and banks have tightened up their lending rules. Residential building has dropped each year in actual terms. Therefore, the Bahamian economic growth is hindered by these issues and the geography as well as the archipelagic layout.
However, despite the challenges brought about by the archipelagic layout, there are techniques that may be embraced to uplift and better the Bahamian economy. The Bahamas has abundant unexploited resources to establish a robust renewable power infrastructure that could do away with oil imports and make more wealth obtainable for investment (Rolle 3). The elimination of the use of petroleum would eradicate spills, air pollution, and climate change. Therefore, for the Bahamas to realize a steady economic growth, better energy security is inevitable. Thus the Island should use renewable energy technologies which include ocean thermal, wind, ocean current, tidal, biogas, and solar. Since the country depends largely on tourism, the government should effectively invest in conserving and face lifting the tourists’ attraction sites. The amenities should be maintained and adequately provided such as fresh water. The Bahamas should also emulate Cuba and strengthen its association with the US as the country provides the highest number of tourists in the Caribbean countries. Providing much comfort to the visitors would increase the number of tourists resulting in high revenues hence an economic boost. The country should enact laws that would protect and encourage small medium-sized business and entrepreneurs to invest in the Bahamas so as to provide employment to the many unemployed citizens. The Island should also invest in technology and train all revenue administrators to ensure that avoidance and evasion of tax are easily detected. The increase in tax collection would enable the government to provide necessary services that would boost the economic growth. Therefore, the Bahamas can use such techniques to realize economic growth despite the archipelagic challenges.
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