Why is Barbados so successful compared to other Caribbean nations?

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vybes_souljah

You want the truth? Because Barbados has stayed true its roots and adheard to British traditions.

I know it sounds radical, but this has been looked at before. Islands in the Caribbean that have adheard to the British or other European values and traditions have tended to do better than the ones which have rebelled against everything Eurocentric. That's just a fact.

The nations in the region that have rebelled against everything British, everything French etc. are the ones that now struggle to find their place in the global economy. They in essence took everything that was seen as colonial, and they shunned or turned their back on it.
Unfortunantly for them in taking such a path; the culture left behind by the colonisers is the same stuff that forms the basis of the global economy. So those nations pretty much shoot themselves in the foot.

In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s many of Barbados' neighbours (Namely Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica) decided they had enough of the Eurocentric/western system. The Black power movements began to rock those nations and they decided that they were going to chart their own paths. As an experiment of sorts they forcibly took over the banking system in their countries. Literally snatching it directly out of the hands of foreign investors and nationalising it for themselves. This never works unfortunately because other investors become fearful and quickly pull their money out fast.

Lucky for Trinidad and Tobago once they ended this experiment they had oil, gas, ammonia and other aspects of the petrochemical industry as a backup to put their country slowly back on track. Guyana and Jamaica are getting there slowly but they haven't been as lucky as T&T in that regard.

Barbados luckily didn't engage in that socialism experiment. It has stuck to what it knows and adopted new aspects when it needs to.

The whole world is shaped around Eurocentric ideas or morals/values so the countries which are following these ways have prospered. The Asian economies are a perfect example of this as they become more westernised. They have lock stock and barrel aligned themselves to the Western/Eurocentric model as a blueprint for their economies and as a result they have reaped the rewards too.

When people come to Barbados to conduct business it feels familiar to them because of the prevalence of the British culture.

Everything in place today in Barbados has been tried and tested. The Father of Independence Errol Barrow was the one that decided that just like England all Barbadians should have the *same access* to Education and Healthcare so he put in place much of the basis for the nationalised health system and free Education that Barbadians are entitled to today. Regardless of class, race, ethnic background etc. you are entitled to that in Barbados. All subsequent Governments in Barbados have adhead to this too.

In terms of Barbadians "not moving overseas" that isn't exactly true. Barbados has had a number of instances of emigration.

Almost the entire Irish/Caucasian population that was in Barbados emigrated during the 1600s to North and South Carolina for example. Not many people remember but it was Barbadians that practically founded those two states.

When Britain took over Guyana from the Dutch a number of Barbadians moved to Guyana to help populate that new territory.

During the construction of the Panama Canal a number of Barbadians moved from Barbados to take higher paying jobs in Panama. (My grandfather was among them.)

When a number of blacks in the Caribbean told Britain they wanted the right to return to the continent of Africa a number of Barbadians took the option of going back to what is now Sierra Leone.

Right before independence a large number of Barbadians funnelled out of Barbados for Canada, England, and the United States.

More recently Bermuda continues to hire a number of Bar-Bajans to work on the Bermuda police force today...

New York City continues to hire Barbadians teachers in large numbers to work there.

Canada, the United States, and England continue hiring Caribbean nurses at a feverish pace leading to the (now) nursing shortage you now see in the Caribbean.

Barbadians have done lots- of emigration all through-out history.

In terms of the policy and strength of the Barbados dollar this was inherited partly through Britain. Almost all currencies in the British West Indies were higher than the U.S. dollar even. They were tied to the gold standard. Once they un-cuppled from that standard their currencies have slowly lost value over time. Luckily Barbados has ignored the advice coming out of Washington D.C. that Barbados should devalue its currency. Jamaica too the advice and recently their currency hit JM$90 to US$1. Guyana took the advice too and their currency now is something like GY$200 to US$1. Barbados has held its rate steady of US$0.50 = Bds$1 (or US$1.00 = Bds$1.98) since the 1970s thanks in large part due to the island having well educated economists that have done their best to maintain the stability of the currency. The IMF and World Bank stated to Barbados after a number of years that Barbados was wise to have not devalued it's currency because it has served the country well after all.

q4norm.answ3rs

I just got back from a vacation to Barbados. I've also visited the Caymans and Jamaica.

I wondered the very same thing myself when I was there. The locals all seemed to live in houses (as opposed to Jamaica where some live in shacks), spoke well, and seemed to enjoy a high standard of living.

Upon reflection I have to chalk it up to a few different factors, and here they are:

1 - the island is small, and thus, easier to manage for the government. Not like Jamaica, the DR, or Cuba.
2 - the island has really nailed its tourism business. A booming tourist industry means more jobs and more tax revenue. Great beaches w free parking, hundreds of convenient restaurants and bars, a decent nightlife scene, the island feels very safe - my litmus test for that is to watch and see how many white women you see in public by themselves (a sadly effective test btw), and there were actually quite a few, and the locals were all genuinely friendly and spoke intelligible english - as opposed to jamaica, where they're friendly but sometimes you can sense they only want your money, and they lace their words with slang. Nothing against Jamaica...its just that a lot of tourists I speak to about Jamaica say "just don't step off the grounds of your hotel" and they may have a point. Also seemed like there were a fair number of european locals in Barbados too.
3 - Education. Its obvious by the way the locals spoke to us that they were fairly well educated. The more educated a populous is, the more work its people will be qualified and able to do, and a working society is a happier society
4 - availability of resources. You can't build a house without bricks, or serve a gourmet dish without fancy exotic foods. Somehow, barbados is getting ahold of the commodoties they need to live a good standard of living...which i guess they could be paying for with all those tourism dollars.

anyway - i'd defenitely go back to Barbados. It was awesome.

@Big D: sorry to offend you. To elaborate: the experience I based my answer on was from driving on the main road from the Kingston airport to a hostel named Great Huts a little west of Port Antonio, and also taking a trip to raft down the Rio Grande. Thats a lot of distance to cover and I feel gives me my statement some credibility. However, the cities we passed through *were* fairly built up, but outside the cities I saw hundreds and hundreds of shacks alongside the road and quite a bit of poverty. I didn't see this anywhere in barbabdos and I feel I saw about 70% of the entire island, including the residential, non-tourist areas. I also saw lots of very big houses in jamaica. So, there is clearly an upper and middle class in jamaica. Its just that there's also a very large lower class in jamaica, and that's not how it is in barbados, which is what the asker wants to know about...thx and sorry to offend!

dvdclarke

Only one power

Bajan Princess =]

Well in the Island of Barbados we dont wait for major problems to happen then find a solution. We create a solution b4 the problem oocurs that way we dont get the 100% affect. Take for instance the Clico incident in Trinidad and Tobago, our government have assured us that it will not affect us heree in Barbados but because we all know that everyone is humna they have come up with a safety plan incase it does affect us.

One person also mentioned a good point, we stay true to our roots( most of the time). As i say all the time: Once a Bajan always a Bajan! =]

We also have a high literacy rate(one of the highest) so with that said you can see why things are the way they are, because ppl here are educated and those that dont have degrees are now looking o get bcuz they see the importnce of it, then they can spread their wings and fly!

Barbados is a developed Island and is becoming even more developed, as time goes on Barbados will be evern higher than it is now!

=]

Hope I helped you.

btw..you didnt tell us where you are from.
=]

i hate monroe 2

well barbados is one of the smaller islands compared to trinidad and jamaica which will of course make it easier to manage. actually barbados isnt the most successful if you check the bahamas has the most G.D.P. followed by trinidad. i definitely think barbados is beautiful though. and to answer the guy q4norm your response offended me a little about jamaica because not all people in jamaica live in shacks, you obviously only see this in the more rural areas. i lived in a big house in jamaica with no violence so i dont know what you are talking about.

jalady

I think it is because Barbados is one of the few islands people don't want to leave to live anywhere else. The stay in their country and make it better for themselves.

I know that it is one of if not the most populated island in the Caribbean(it used to be).

The crime is not high so I think and they probably have alot of repeat tourist/visitors.

Their dollars has definitely done much better than the other islands!

Where's my McNuggets?

Bajans are smart and it's just a great country to live in!

ghost

I've been to Barbados a couple times, it's nice but I don't see it as a core country or anything.

goodperson@heart

actually the cayman islands is better than here because i saw alot of them working there when i visited there.

Highly Favoured

This is a really good question. I guess that is just the way it is because of certain factors. I might not know all and we can only speculate as to the reasons. I guess we are just fortunate to be this way with a little help.

First of all we have a stable government with no uprising not coup since 1937. It has a good health care system and it is free. Starting from childhood the medication is free up to 16 years and after 65. Medical services are free including eye and dental care. Operations are also free if you can wait.

Lots of companies are offering medical plans, pension plan as well as many other benefits. We also have a good industrial climate and the rate of pay is competitive so that people can build their dream homes.

There is also good infrastructure and low crime rate to compare with some of the other Caribbean islands. We have some of the purest water in the world and our main export (sugar) is one of the cleanest.

The people here are very friendly and that is maybe why we have repeat visitors although it is said that we are a luxurious destination. Many international stars also have made here their home including Simon Cowell. Even Tiger Woods was married here.

Education is free for example, you can go to primary and secondary schools free of cost. I know school meals was $00.10 before but believe it is free now. Primary school student entering secondary for the first time is given $100 to help with uniform. There is a small fee to enter university but the government subsidizes the schooling. I know because I spent 6 years there. It is said that Barbados has a literacy rate of about 99%. http://www.stabroeknews.com/2008/letters/12/25/only-barbados-has-a-higher-literacy-rate-than-guyana/

Many people from some Caribbean islands want to come here to work and they do especially Guyanese. They can work for money and send back for their family.
http://www.barbadosbeachresort.com/finance.php

q4norm gave a good answer.

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