The Economics of Development in Small Countries: With Special Reference to the Caribbean

First published in 1965, this classic work by William Demas, former president of the Caribbean Development Bank and committed regional integrationist, was released in a limited edition and has been widely unavailable for decades.

Adapted from a four-lecture series presented at McGill University in 1964, The Economics of Development in Small Countries deals with the special problems faced in analysing the economics of small countries and seeks to apply these concepts to West Indian economies. Demas’s thesis is that economic development and the achievement of self-sustained growth cannot be considered in isolation from the size of the country.

This edition includes a new introduction by Sir Hilary McD. Beckles, in which he considers the groundbreaking work in the context of nearly forty-five years of regional development and finds as relevant and important today as it was in 1965.

Co-published with the Caribbean Development Bank

William G. Demas was the first Secretary General of CARICOM, 1973–1974, and President of the Caribbean Development Bank, 1974–1987.