Dr. DeLisle Worrell, former governor of the Barbados Central Bank (CBB), believes the Caribbean is certainly more integrated today than it was 50 years ago.
However, the pattern of regional integration, he claims, has nothing to do with what Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders envisioned.
Worrell, who served as CBB governor from 2009 to 2017, wrote in his “Economic Letter for August” that during that time period, there were different socioeconomic activities that led to a greater strengthening of the regional integration process.
“There is no doubt that the Caribbean is more integrated today than it was 50 years ago.” Since then, Trinidad’s Carnival style has expanded throughout the diaspora and the area; Jamaican music has become a global phenomenon, with versions cropping up everywhere, including the Caribbean.
“Caribbean literature attracts readership across the English-speaking world and in the region; and, thanks to many decades of emigration, and the presence of large communities of Caribbean people in major cities in North America and the UK, almost everyone has personal links of family and friendship across the region,” Worrell wrote.
However, he stated that “this is not the pattern of regional integration in mind by the Caribbean leadership.”
“However, it has grown organically to the benefit of the people of the region, providing rich and dynamic cultural experiences for us to enjoy and celebrate, as well as enriching livelihoods for cultural practitioners, regional economies, and everyone who benefits from remittances, pensions, and other foreign income.” Ironically, we often feel most Caribbean in Miami, New York, or Toronto.”
He stated that the use of US dollars instead of local currency for all local business would considerably enhance Caribbean regional integration, adding that “no Caricom decision is required for any country to reap that benefit.”
