In: Economics
The persistent under development in Caribbean economies is attributed to the plantation system.
A. Explain in about a page long do you agree or disagree?
The carribean economies like Bahamas and Barbados are classical example of a Lewis model. Whereby two sector exist in the economy. One sector is traditional sector, where primitive means of production are employed in agriculture and plantation. Also the wages paid to the labor are equal to the average productivity of labor. There is also a surplus labor.
On the other side, the modern sector consist of technological advance machinery and techniques. The wages paid to the labor are based upon their marginal product. For structural transformation and economical development the surplus labor in the agrarian sector has to migrate towards the modern sector. However this process has been stalled for over a decade.
The presence of weak political and social institution has made carribean economy extensively depend upon the plantation system. The plantation system is a last remaining symbol of colonialism. However, the method of production used in this system is still archaic. The absence of industries in the carribean nation aggravates the over reliance upon the plantation system.
From the above discussion it would be correct to say that the process of underdevelopment in carribean economies owes it's existence to the plantation system.