Contents
Foreword
Abbreviations and Acronyms
What are Small States?
Part I: Recent Economic Trends in Commonwealth Small States
1. Recent Economic Trends in Commonwealth Small States
Introduction
Economic environment
Overall economic growth trends
Sources of growth
Inflation
Employment
External performance
International trade relations
Current account balances
Inflows to small states
Economic development issues
Public debt
International reserves
Human development indicators
Key policy issues
Conclusion
2. Strengthening Supply Chains for Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Namibia by Watipaso Mkandawire
Introduction
Background and objectives
Theoretical perspective
Challenges faced by micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in Namibia
Gemstones
Textile and garment
Wood carving and carpentry
Agriculture
The Commonwealth Secretariat’s intervention
Formation of sector co-operatives
Formation of clusters and networks
The group purchasing scheme
From GPS to trading house
Micro-banks
Public-private sector support
Lessons and conclusion
3. Experiences in MSME Networking Across Small States in the Commonwealth by Ram Venuprasad
Introduction
Theory of enterprise networking
Genesis of the MSME networking model: the Malta story
Development of the MSME networking model across Commonwealth SIDS
Mauritius
The Caribbean
Pacific Ocean states
Lessons learned
4. MSME Development: Lessons from Small States by David Ashiagbor
Introduction
MSME policy in small states in practice
Botswana
Swaziland
Mauritius
Lessons for policy-makers
5. Small-scale Activities and the Productivity Divide by Naren Prasad
Introduction
A definitional and empirical overview
What are small and medium-sized enterprises?
The empirical evidence on SMEs
Why are SMEs important?
The informal economy and small-scale activity
Exports by SMEs
The productivity divide
The bias of ‘labour productivity’ in comparing small and large enterprises
Cross-regional evidence of a size-productivity gap
How do small enterprises survive?
Are small firms a transitional phenomenon?
Why are small firms not driven from the market?
The implications of economic ‘dualism’
Social dimensions of the productivity gap
The wage gap
Micro-entrepreneurs in the informal economy
Higher incomes for successful entrepreneurs
Beyond incomes: the fuller dimensions of poverty
Addressing the productivity divide
Encouraging the ‘collective efficiency’ of the small enterprise sector
The collective advantage of co-operatives
Conclusions
Part II: Social and Economic Data on Small States
Basic Statistics
Technical notes for tables
Tables
Economic indicators
1: Selected economic indicators
2: Gross domestic product at current market prices
3: Sectoral distribution of gross domestic product
4: Growth of production
5: Structure of demand
6: Percentage change in the Consumer Price Index
7: Merchandise exports and growth
8: Merchandise imports and growth
9: Trade balance
10: Destination of merchandise exports
11: Destination of merchandise exports to selected regions
12: Main sources of merchandise imports
13: Merchandise imports by selected regions
14: Merchandise trade to Commonwealth countries
15: Export characteristics
16: Selected indicators of openness and instability
17: Fish catches
18: Energy production, consumption and trade
19: Tourist arrivals and earnings
20: International reserves
21: External debt: selected categories
22: Official net transfers
23: Principal indicators of debt
24: Composition of debt
25: Foreign direct investment
26: Total net financial flows from all sources
27: Net financial flows by major categories
28: ODA commitments, disbursements, per capita resource flows and IMF credit
29: Average exchange rates
30: Money supply and average national interest rates
Social and demographic indicators
31: Selected size indicators
32: Population indicators
33: Distribution of labour force
34: Urban and rural population
35: Population distribution by age
36: Selected demographic indicators
37: Life expectancy at birth
38: Adult literacy rates
39: Primary education gross enrolment ratio
40: Secondary education gross enrolment ratio
41: Tertiary education gross enrolment ratio
42: Selected characteristics of female population
43: Total government expenditure by main components in selected countries
Other development indicators
44: Access to improved water sources
45: Access to improved sanitation
46: Human Development Index
47: Gender-related Development Index
48: Human Poverty Index
49: Births delivered by skilled health personnel and maternal mortality
50: Prevalence of underweight children
51: Under fives mortality rate
52: Summary statistics of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis
53: Environment
54: Main indicators of communications
Readership Survey
Figures