Caribbean policy project

The project, to be managed by a Regional Implementation Unit (RIU) on behalf of participating national, subregional (OECS), and regional (CARICOM) public and private institutions, will have three components: (1) statistics and data base development; (2) policy analysis; and (3) policy development, consensus building, and implementation. To improve the quality of data used in developing economic policies, the project will develop a master plan for statistical and data base development related to trade, private sector, and economic growth policies. Efforts will include establishing quality controls, providing short-term training, improving statistical procedures, and conducting survey and database activities. This component may support a donor-OECS project to establish a PC-based customs, fiscal, and trade data base. The second component will develop in-depth analyses of economic policies. (1) The data base developed under the first component will be used to document the trade regimes of OECS countries and to conduct research on the effects of trade regulations and the actual and potential effects of modifying them. (2) The policy environment for businesses in the region will be documented through case studies of the regulations that businesses must comply with. These studies would trace the transactions of local foreign businesses; transactions in major sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing; financial transactions; and transactions of small entrepreneurs. Project funds might be used to ameliorate problems found in these studies. (3) This component will also assess the investment climate in specific sectors such as agriculture, tourism, services, industry, and commerce. The third and most important project component is action-oriented and consists of support for specific activities in the areas of: (1) policy development, e.g., assistance to national or regional working groups in resolving analytical or operational issues; (2) consensus building via workshops, seminars, conferences, newsletters, etc.; and (3) support for policy implementation, through TA, training, operational assistance, equipment, and the like. Amendment of 1/18/94 modifies implementation arrangements. The RIU is eliminated as an unnecessary administrative layer, and lead implementation responsibility is shifted to the grantee, the OECS" Economic Affairs Secretariat (EAS). The EAS will be assisted by an institutional contractor. (PD-ABI-439) Amendment of 9/7/95 scales back the PACD 15 months to 9/30/96 and reduces outputs, eliminating the natural resource management objective, participant training, and plans to develop a master plan for statistical and database development. The project will emphasize consensus-building and short-term TA for priority policy initiatives having regional benefit. The truncated project is expected to produce: 5 sector databases at the national level; 2 national/regional surveys; 8 policy and sector constraint analyses; 7 regional workshops on policy issues; 20 national workshops, seminars, meetings, and consensus-building events; and 7 policy development subgrants to public and private sector organizations. (PD-ABM-143)