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By Dr. Basil Springer |
"Many policy analysts consider literacy rates a crucial measure of a region's human capital. This claim is made on the grounds that literate people can be trained less expensively than illiterates. Policy makers also argue that literacy increases job opportunities and access to higher education" - www.answers.com
Bridgetown, Barbados, March
14, 2005: It has been
continually repeated that on average the Caribbean is a relatively
poor region even though there are obvious pockets of affluence
and there are significant potential resources which have not
been fully exploited. There are many types of capital which may
be exploited for development. These include human, intellectual,
social, cultural, physical, natural and financial capital. To
date we have exploited our natural resources (eco-systems, energy,
minerals, water and top soil) to some extent. Throughout the
Caribbean our major industry is a service industry, the tourism
industry, where we have successfully garnered our natural, cultural
and social) resources to meet the needs of foreign visitors.
Our physical capital has certainly been enhanced over the years
as financial capital has been injected to improve roads, build
stadia, university campuses and the like. Our social capital
is still leaking at the seams in terms of harmony among our people
as manifested by cooperation, trust and loyalty. We have striven
to increase our human capital by improving our knowledge and
skills base and gathering increased levels of experience. Our
intellectual capital has not been released to reveal the latent
innovation and talent which lie dormant in our communities. We
will not be able to boast of our own financial capital until
we become a rich region which means that be have to be successful
in integrating borrowed capital with our other assets in pursuit
of wealth creation.
Even though the distribution of these types of capital is not
uniform throughout the Caribbean there is one form of capital
which is common to all territories and that is, its people. The
people asset must be developed to the fullest if we are going
to alleviate poverty and improve our economic growth for the
socio-economic benefit of all.
I have mentioned several times in this column the relationship
between tertiary output per capita (the percentage of persons
accessing higher education) and economic growth. Countries with
low tertiary output per capita have low GDP per capita. Countries
with high tertiary output per capita have high GDP per capita.
It is, therefore, a no brainer to recognize that, to achieve
high GDP per capita, which is a manifestation of economic development,
one must have a policy framework which aggressively addresses
an increase in tertiary output per capita. The Republic of Ireland
is the most recent emerging nation to successfully implement
such a policy. We must learn from them.
It was reported in the Business Authority last week that at a
recent Information for Development Conference held in Barbados
the executive summary of a report prepared for the Information
for Development Programme (Infodev) was quoted as stating that
educational attainment was an important challenge for the region
and that there was a popular misconception that the skill level
in the Caribbean was 'relatively high'.
This is to be contrasted with an article entitled 'UNICEF: All
Bajans Can Read' - Monday 12, January-2004 by Tony Best which
stated for the first time in the nation's history, Barbados has
attained the cherished goal of having every adult being able
to read and write. Just as important for future generations and
for the growth and development of the country in the 21st century
every primary school age child is in the classroom. I believe
that this is the sort of statement that can induce complacency.
The Infodev report, however, went on to conclude that tertiary
enrollment was the region's 'biggest educational weakness' and
despite the fact that countries like Barbados, the Bahamas and
the Dominican republic have more than 20% of its youth attending
university, the Eastern Caribbean states average a meagre 2%.
The Infodev paper charged that with many structural disadvantages,
Caribbean economies should focus on premium niche segments, even
in tourism, yet they persist in following low-cost strategies,
despite the fact that their economies are clearly high cost.
According to the report, the major opportunity for the future
of the Caribbean was in the transition to a service economy and
towards niche manufacturing sectors that can supply high paying
jobs. Arguing that the transition to niche manufacturing and
high end services was not easy for economies without the necessary
skill level, the report sought to use countries like Ireland
as examples of emerging nations that had made successful transitions.
In addition, the report called for upgrading of knowledge and
human capital as a means of increasing competitiveness, stressing
that this should become an immediate priority of regional governments.
It also called for regional universities to 'connect to the needs
of the private sector', through manpower planning, to understand
their demands on future employees.
The availability of support services and financing for startups,
is almost non-existent in the region. The failure to deliver
funds and technical capabilities to emerging 'sunrise' enterprises
is the largest impediment to their growth. CBET is addressing
this challenge as it evolves into Phase 2 of its development.
(Dr. Basil Springer GCM is Change-Engine Consultant, Caribbean
Business Enterprise Trust Inc. www.cbet-inc.org)