By Emmanuel Joseph
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr Delisle Worrell, has called on the government to make foreign currency freely available to cultural practitioners, arguing that such a policy would be the single most effective way to grow the region’s cultural industries.
Addressing the theme The Caribbean Cultural Industries Provide Tangible Economic Benefits, in the October edition of his monthly Economic Letter, Dr Worrell contends that this would be the best way to grow the industry.
“As far as government policies are concerned, perhaps the most important boost that can be provided to the cultural industries is to make foreign currency freely available to cultural practitioners,” Dr Worrell said.
“Domestic limitations on the supply of foreign currency,” he said, “increase the incentive to relocate abroad. Concessions on the importation of specialised supplies and equipment are also helpful but more difficult to implement in practice.”
The former consultant to the World Bank argues that financial support and promotion of local events and showcases will always be limited in countries where basic government services such as health, education, public transport and policing remain below an acceptable standard and where current tax revenues are already stretched.
He said: “Financial support for culture cannot take precedence over the provision of essential public services and the maintenance and upgrade of public buildings, facilities and infrastructure.”
Dr Worrell noted that the Caribbean cultural industries are a remarkable success story, but it is in the nature of the business that regional states themselves see only a “very” small economic benefit.
He said: “The cultural industries provide livelihoods for a stream of talented athletes, writers, designers, sportspersons, commentators, promoters, communications and technology specialists, and other associated personnel, some who travel frequently from a base in the region and many more who live abroad.”
Caribbean countries are too small to attract a constant stream of international activities that would make cultural tourism a major contributor to GDP, he added.
He explained: “Cricket West Indies may never have the financial muscle to develop and field a competitive international West Indies team, but we should recognise and celebrate the employment opportunities which world markets have opened for Caribbean cricketers, including in the lucrative Indian Premier League.”
The economist said the Caribbean cultural industries, broadly defined to include sports, are already a global success, boasting legendary names in cricket, athletics, music, literature, the plastic arts, theatre, dance and the festival arts.
He noted that the iconic names in these fields are only the visible tip of the iceberg. There are tens of thousands of Caribbean people who make their livelihoods from cultural activities, including many with prowess in disciplines that are less well known.
Dr Worrell said: “There is, however, a crucial difference with the Caribbean’s dominant industry – tourism – that affects the domestic economic benefits from the cultural industries: tourists travel to local markets to consume accommodation, food and entertainment services, but it is the cultural practitioners who must travel to foreign markets to sell their services.
“For this reason the cultural industries have only a modest domestic economic footprint. Very little activity takes place locally, most income is generated abroad, and there is virtually nothing of the productive spillover to the local economy that tourism generates.”
He suggested that this is the dilemma which Cricket West Indies faces: it will realise a surplus only on those occasions when cricket becomes a tourist product. The Cricket West Indies executives recognise this and they hope to attract visitors from North America for the 2027 Indian tour to shore up their finances.
Dr Worrell suggested that it is much the same for other cultural products such as the Trinidad Carnival, Barbados’ Crop Over, St Lucia’s Jazz Festival and the many music festivals that are a feature of the summer season in the Caribbean.
He continued: “There are considerable domestic economic benefits to be had from the cultural industries, but only on those occasions when culture becomes a tourist activity. In the Caribbean, such events do not occur with sufficient frequency to provide a yearlong source of employment for a significant proportion of the workforce.
“We all celebrate the Caribbean’s extraordinary achievements in literature, music, sports, theatre and dance, fashion and design, and in the new digital spaces. However, we are not always aware of the region’s triumphs. The demise of Caribbeanwide media institutions, most recently Sportsmax and Loop News, leaves many of us unaware of happenings involving Caribbean people, in disciplines and countries other than our own, within the Caribbean and in the wider world.”
Dr Worrell suggested that filling this gap is perhaps a task for civil society organisations, and Caribbean people in the diaspora might be best placed to take up the mantle.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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