What is Macroeconomic Challenges

This chapter focuses on the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), a cluster of 15 countries and islands in the Caribbean region that invest ongoing efforts to establish growth and increased well-being. CARICOM is facing its share of challenges, of which two important ones include a) economic relations and b) education. With their common history as former European colonies, the Caribbean nations have traditionally focused on the USA, Canada, and Europe as their main partners. Now that the global tide is turning, it becomes increasingly important for them to change course. China, as the major global player of our times, is therefore a potential partner that Caribbean nations increasingly embrace. Even so, the challenges of their small scale and their lack of trade complementarity remain dark clouds on the Caribbean horizon. In addition, the education system in many of the member nations needs urgent and radical reinvention. This chapter shines some light on these issues.