Caribbean development review: Volume I

Caribbean Development Report is a new, refereed journal by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean. The basic objective of this journal is to publish articles that provide a biennial assessment of the most salient aspects of social-economic development in the Caribbean. It is intended that the highlighted issues would be used as a basis for the countries to respond collectively and collaboratively to specific development challenges.

The framework of the Report can be found in the ECLAC mandate to monitor and report on the implementation of major United Nations global summits on social development and to support Caribbean governments in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Caribbean Development Report, Volume I, 2007, is our inaugural edition with abstracts. This will be a regular feature in all future editions. The issue contains 13 diverse but, nevertheless, interrelated articles that draw on policy ideas and practical insights on contemporary social and economic development issues in the Caribbean. We therefore wish to commend it to policy makers in the region and to members of the general public who are concerned with integration and cooperation, and those that seek to influence the formulation and execution of social and economic policies and programmes in the subregion.