Final product of a research project I conducted on and in the Caribbean island of Antigua, which was sponsored by the Donald. H. Harrison Honors Program at Birmingham-Southern College. The final product is a magazine in the style of Time magazine.

1. A N TI G U A
January 2010
The Economics of A Small Place
ANTIGUA January 2010 1
Ryan L. Melvin

2. Special Contents
Thanks Fact Sheet 3
Book: A Small Place 4
Economic Development 9
The Museum of Antigua and Briefing: Inequality/Industry 17
Barbuda, whose staff helped me
set up several of my interviews
and were kind enough to let me Voices of Antigua 20
use their research library.
Commentary: The Line 27
Interview with Dr. Murphy 28
Travel Tips 30
The Gilbert Agricultural and
Rural Development Center,
whose director took the time to
explain to me some of the more
pressing issues on the island.
The Methodist Church in the
Image Source:
www.archaeologya
Caribbean and the Americas,
ntigua.org/biograph
y.htm
whose Connexional Secretary,
Otto Wade, and staff member,
Haley Mills, travel
Phyllis Edwards, sat down to
companion and bodyguard
Dr. Murphy, who took time out talk with me, set up staff
extraordinaire.
of his busy schedule to talk to interviews, and served as a local
me about island culture and the contact in preparing for the trip
work of Jamaica Kincaid. to the island.
Author's Note
Special thanks also go to Dr. Rossmann, who
agreed to sponsor this project; Dr. Hagen, for her
guidance from the initial stages through the final
product; and Meredith Wiggins in BSC's Writing
Center for reading over my work. Als, it should
The Donald C. Harrison Honors Program for be noted my layout blatantly rips off Time
providing motivation, inspiration and funding. Magazine.
2 ANTIGUA January 2010

3. Antigua in Brief
Sources: Population - Family pic. iconarchive.com; first column and mortality: World Bank; Racial data: everyculture.com; Remainder: UN data; map: eird.org. The Island - Flag: unimaps.com; Data: UN data. Society - telephone, internet, and import/export: Un data. Poverty data: "Living
Conditions in Antigua and Barbuda: Poverty in a Services Economy in Transition," Prepared by Kairi Consultants Ltd in Association with the National Assessment Team of Antigua and Barbuda, made available by caribank.org. NOTE: Some data may be for Antigua and Barbuda, date
The Numbers
90,000 85.8% 30,000
Population
people of live in
adults can read* the capital city, St. John's
0.8% annual 93% of people 11/1,000
growth rate are of African decent infant mortality rate
38% of the 13% of people
population in cities are unemployed
* 2009 Human Development Report
states 99% literacy rate
75 170
The Island
degrees F ­ lowest square miles of land
average temp. for Antigua and Barbuda
85 degrees F ­ highest
average temp.
21.4% is forested
38 endangered species 41.4 inches of rainfall A Guide to
Antigua's Flag
179 100
Society
telephone subscriptions per residents The sun represents the "dawn
72.3 100
of a new era."
18.3% 15,485
internet subscribers per residents Red is for the "dynamism of
the people."
or below local poverty level of
$2,366 8,414
Black is for soil, representing
the African heritage.
USD, with just above the line.
82.4%
The three layers ­ gold, blue,
and white ­ together represent
of those living in poverty own a TV;
90.7% 20.3%
Antigua's tourism resources ­
sun, sea, and sand.
own a stove; own an car; and
10.7%
The V in the figure is a symbol
for "Victory."
range is 2005-2009
own a computer. Source: Museum of Antigua and Barbuda
ANTIGUA January 2010 3

4. Book A Small Place
The thing you have always
One islander's suspected about yourself the
minute you become a tourist
take on tourism is true: A tourist is an ugly
human being.
­ A Small Place, p.14
A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid is a diatribe Next, the monolithic tourist considers how
against tourism. Its powerful, second­person wonderful it is to escape bad weather and come to
narrative form gives pause to potential travelers. a place where it hardly ever rains. Such a tourist
This work is not – for the most part – about the fails to consider what actually living in a place
environmental impacts of tourism, as one might where it seldom rains must be like – constantly
expect in today’s increasingly eco­conscious dealing with drought. The tourist then leaves the
world, but about the cultural impact. Kincaid airport, moving quickly and smoothly through
spends her 81 pages lamenting the lack of self­ customs, being exempt from searches by virtue of
identity Antigua has due to its high – nearly being white.
absolute – reliance on the tourism industry and Leaving the airport, the tourist gets in the car
the lingering effects of British rule. with a swindling taxi driver who may or not
Kincaid starts her text with a narrative of actually have a license. The car is a nicer model
what a tourist might see and experience upon first than most people in the U.S. can afford, because
arriving in Antigua. At the airport, a tourist sees the government encourages banks to make loans
the name V.C. Bird – prime minister at the time for cars. Government ministers own some major
when A Small Place was written. But why would car dealerships. On the way to the hotel, the
someone want to have an airport named after tourist sees a closed library, which was damaged
himself? Why not have your name on a school, in 1974 by an earthquake. On the front of the
library, or hospital? In Antigua, the answer is building is a sign that reads, “Repairs are
because the quality of these institutions is too low. pending.” Once settled, the tourist orders dinner
No one would want an Antiguan school, library, – food produced in Antigua, shipped to Miami,
or hospital named after herself . and then back to Antigua.
4 ANTIGUA January 2010

5. It is at this point that Kincaid An English Place
states the thesis of the first section of
her book: “A tourist is an ugly The next section of Kincaid’s
human being.” According to Kincaid, book focuses on ways that Antigua
tourists are not ugly people in their
A walk down
has changed during her lifetime.
day­to­day life. They are only “ugly She says that the Antigua she grew
High Street
human being[s]” when they are up in no longer exists, for two
tourists. When a person decides to reasons. The first is “the usual
be a tourist, that person goes “from reason, the passing of time.” Things
being that nice blob just sitting like a change with time. The second
boob in your amniotic sac of the reason is “the bad minded people
modern experience to being a person who used to rule over it, the
visiting heaps of death and ruin and English.” It is this second reason on
feeling alive about and inspired at which Kincaid focuses her attention.
the sign of it.” Kincaid begins by saying that
Tourists marvel at the the English have “hardly any idea
“harmony” with nature that less­ what to do with themselves now
developed nations have. The tourist, The street that was once the
that they no longer have one quarter center of Antigua's colonial
however, actually thinks of this of the earth’s human population government now houses
harmony as “backwardness.” bowing and scraping before them.” restaurants, local businesses,
Kincaid accuses the tourist of She goes on to say that the idea of and stray dogs.
believing “their [the native’s] building an empire was a bad one
ancestors were not clever in the ways from the start and that “no natural
yours [the tourist’s] were.” As the disaster imaginable could equal the
tourist observes these strange harm they did.” Kincaid states that
people, she never takes the time to the English caused such harm by
imagine that maybe the people living loving their home so much that they
in that place might not like her. tried to turn every place they visited
But why would people living on into England. Rather than Anglo­
Antigua not like those who come to forming the world, Kincaid says,
visit? According to Kincaid, the they should have stayed at home.
reason a tourist leaves home is so Before Antigua became
that he can escape the “banality” of completely independent, all of the
his own life. As Kincaid says: government of Antigua as a colony
"For every native of every place took place on High Street. In her
is a potential tourist, and every reminiscence on this part of the city
tourist is a native of somewhere. of St. John’s, Kincaid first recalls the
Every native everywhere lives a life library that once sat atop the
of overwhelming and crushing Department of Treasury. Along
banality and boredom and with the library and the treasury,
desperation and depression, and there was a post office, a courtroom,
every deed, good and bad, is an a place to get a passport at the
attempt to forget this." government offices, and Barclays
It is the tourist that finds a way Bank. At this point, Kincaid
to escape his own banality. The explains that the Barclay brothers
natives who are watched by the were slave traders, and when slave
tourist “are too poor to escape the trading ended, they made even
reality of their [the natives’] lives; more money in the banking
industry. Kincaid says most
and they are too poor to live
islanders her age remember the
properly in the place where they name of the first black cashier hired
live.” The natives are stuck at home; at Barclays.
meanwhile, the tourist is turning the Here, Kincaid’s tone switches
natives’ boring lives into a source of from dispassionate explanation to
entertainment. unadulterated hatred:
ANTIGUA January 2010 5

6. Book A Small Place
“Do you ever wonder why some people blow “told these girls over and over again to stop
things up? I can imagine that if my life had taken a behaving as if they were monkeys just out of
certain turn, there would be Barclays bank, and trees.” This was not racism to Antiguans. They
there I would be, both of us in ashes.” thought they British simply had bad manners.
Her anger comes from the way that the This section of the text closes with an
Barclay brothers, as slave traders, treated so many accusation that all the English ever taught
human beings. She says that for those treated like Antiguans was to lie to, cheat, steal from, and kill
commodities, “heaven is not enough of a reward,” each other. The reason that people like the
and for those who turned human beings into Antiguans don’t like capitalism is that for a long
commodities, hell is not enough of a punishment. time they were themselves capital. Kincaid says
To drive home the point, Kincaid then describes that the English destroyed her own history for the
the Mill Reef Club, which was built exclusively for sake of glorifying their own. They made Antigua
white people, where black people were allowed a broken place without an identity of its own. All
only as servants. Similar to the bank, everyone of of this Kincaid writes in the second person, so it is
her generation remembers the name of the first not simply the British who broke Antigua, it is
black person to stay at the Mill Reef Club. “you.”
As an example of how white people treated
the inhabitants of Antigua, Kincaid tells the story
of a Czechoslovakian dentist who came to Antigua
A Changed Place
to escape the Holocaust. In Antigua, the man set
himself up as a pediatrician. Before allowing After her polemic on the British, Kincaid talks
patients to see him, according to Kincaid, he more about what causes her anger and what
would send his wife out to inspect them to make motivated her to write ­ another street in the
sure that “there was nothing else about us – apart capital city of St. John’s. Just a few blocks over
from the color of our skin – that would offend the from High Street is Market Street.
doctor.” For example, Kincaid recalls one visit to One day while walking down Market Street,
the doctor before which Kincaid’s mother made Kincaid looked around her and realized that
sure there was no dirt under Kincaid’s nails, on Antigua was in worse shape than when it was
her neck, or behind her ears. ruled by the British. She asked herself how
Kincaid also tells of a school headmistress Antigua could have gotten into such a poor
hired by the colonial government to run a girls’ situation. The answer, Kincaid says, is known by
school, which had only recently started accepting all Antiguans: “The government is corrupt. Them
children born outside of marriage. According to are thief, them are big thief."
Kincaid, no Antiguan had considered that this Kincaid’s primary exemplar of the problems
now­removed rule might have existed to keep with Antigua’s government is a library. As she
black children out. Kincaid says the headmistress said earlier in the text, there was an earthquake in
A brief history of Antigua
1775 B.C.E. Ca. 35 C.E. 1493 1632 1640s 1666
First recorded Arawak­ Columbus English Slavery and French rule
Source: Museum of Antigua and Barbuda
date of speaking names colonize sugar­ Antigua for 3
humans in people settle Antigua after Antigua growing come months
Antigua on the island a cathedral in to the island
Seville, Spain
1736 C.E. 1808 1834 1939 1967 1981
Prince Klaas End of slave Emancipation Era of trade Independence Complete
plots slave trade of slaves unions begins in Association independence
insurrection with Great
Britain
6 ANTIGUA January 2010

7. Market Street is appropriately named,
as it contains numerous local shops
and street vendors.
Antigua's public library currently sits above Lolita's, a local boutique, on Market Street.
1974 that damaged the original library. The tourists “buy all those awful things that tourists
library’s collection was moved to what was always buy, all those awful things they then take
supposed to be a temporary location – above a home, put in their attics, and their children have to
boutique on Market Street: throw out when the tourists finally die.”
“Imagine, then, the bitterness and shame in It is government corruption that Kincaid
me as I tell you this. I was standing on Market blames for this transformation of the capital city.
Street in front of the library. The library! But why Foreign businessmen who own property on
is the library on Market Street?” Antigua often also have diplomatic passports from
She goes on to ask how the government has the small island country. Whenever a new
taken so long to repair such an integral part of the development from foreign investors shows up, it
island’s culture. Kincaid reminisces about the old often turns out that the construction company
library, saying that she used to spend the evenings belongs to the same government minister who
of her childhood there, sometimes trying to steal approved the development. Similarly, when
the books that she liked the most, and being condominiums are constructed, several rooms are
thwarted by the librarian. The librarian in the sometimes given to the minister who made the
current location, says Kincaid, cannot even locate construction possible. Also, most government
the books that people request from the collection. vehicles, Kincaid points out, are the model sold by
The old library was beautiful and iconic; the a dealership owned by one government minister.
current library is someone’s attic and an Amidst all this trouble, Kincaid doesn’t seem
appropriate metaphor for Kincaid’s perception of to think the situation is likely to improve with
the island today. time. She laments the fact that children are often
Kincaid vocalizes her frustration and that of encouraged to attend Antigua’s Hotel Training
those who left the island many years ago and School. The school, Kincaid says, “teaches
return home to find it in its current state. She says, Antiguans how to be good servants, how to be a
“Antiguans returning to Antigua after a long good nobody, which is what a servant is.” She
absence … are shocked and offended by the sight suggests that even though the people were
of a library sitting on top of a dry­goods store.” emancipated from slavery, they still don’t have
In place of its old position as the center of their freedom. In her view, Antiguans are still
island government and culture, St. John’s, says slaves – slaves to a corrupt government, slaves to
Kincaid, has become a tourist trap, a place where tourists and the tourism industry.
ANTIGUA January 2010 7

8. Book A Small Place
Kincaid proceeds to list the problems the even their lives are tourist attraction. The
corrupt government and the tourism industry government corruption simply adds to this feeling
have brought to the island. Among these of low self­worth.
problems are drugs, which the government A Small Place concludes on a different note
ignores. There is a house of prostitution, which, than the rest of the book. Kincaid talks about the
according to Kincaid, is run by friends of the unsurpassed and unchanging beauty of the island:
prime minister. There are also casinos that cater to “The unreal way in which it is beautiful now that
the tourists. Kincaid also tells of a time when the they [Antiguans] are free people is the unreal way
government knowingly allowed meat in which it was beautiful when they were slaves.”
contaminated by radiation to be sold on Antigua. The text's last paragraph conveys a sense of
She continues with tales of cloak­and­dagger hope. The people are no longer slaves. They are
conspiracies about the deaths of officials who no longer “human rubbish.” But neither are they
opposed the corruption on the island. noble and exalted. Kincaid says, “They are just
Kincaid says that Antiguans have absorbed human beings.”
tourism into their day­to­day lives so fully that
Those awful things that tourists always buy
What exactly do tourists buy on Antigua? During a meeting with the director of the Gilbert
Agricultural & Rural Development Center, a non­profit organization on Antigua, I found out.
45% 42% local art
33% 32%
T­shirts
A cruise ship filled with
31%
tourists docks near Heritage
Quay in St. John's. other clothing jewelry
momentos
e.g., keychains
T-shirt Image Source: clker.com
28%
local pottery
Throughout St. John's are also
duty free shops with higher­end
items.
8 ANTIGUA January 2010

9. Development
Economic
Report Source: "Living Conditions in Antigua and Barbuda: Poverty in a Services Economy in Transition." Prepared by Kairi Consultants Ltd in Association with the National Assessment Team of Antigua and
development on
Antigua
Do the numbers agree with
Kincaid's assessment of
Antigua's development?
According to economists Todaro and Smith in both of these complaints seem serious, only a small
their text Economic Development, there are three segment of Kincaid’s work is dedicated to them, so
core values of economic development: sustenance, it seems safe to assume that Kincaid does not give
self­esteem, and freedom from servitude. In them much weight.
economic terms, part of Jamaica Kincaid’s Do the economic data agree with Kincaid on
argument in A Small Place is that these three values this first issue of sustenance? According to a report
are not all at work in Antigua’s development. prepared for the Caribbean Development Bank,
healthcare does seem to be widely available to the
population. For example, 89.6% of children born
in Antigua are delivered in a hospital. However,
Sustenance the number of assisted births is likely much higher,
as it is the poorest fifth of the population that has
The first value – sustenance – covers whether the greatest percentage of hospital births – 94.1%.
people in a country can meet their basic needs. Higher socio­economic brackets of the population
Basic needs are goods or services necessary for life have the ability to pay for other methods of
– including food, shelter, healthcare, and safety. In assisted birthing. Furthermore, the report states
short, economic development requires that the that Antigua and Barbuda achieve almost 100%
goal of all economic activity be to improve the immunization of children by the age of 5 – that is,
overall quality of life for the populace. According 100% of the World Health Organization’s
to Todaro and Smith, such improvement is recommended immunizations.
indicated by rising per capita incomes, elimination According to the report, Antigua has both
of absolute poverty (the state where a population’s public and private health services, both of which
basic needs are barely being met), job creation, and seem to be widely available. In fact, 33% of the
Barbuda. Accessible at http://www.caribank.org
decreases in income disparity. population uses community clinics, and 24.8% of
Kincaid seems to indicate only a minor lack in the poorest fifth of the population utilizes private
terms of this first value. According to A Small healthcare. As far as Kincaid’s complaint that the
Place, Antiguans do not – or at least did not when richest in the population use healthcare outside of
the book was written – trust the doctors on the country, only 1.7% of the richest fifth of the
Antigua. In fact, whenever government ministers population (which is 0.5% of the total population)
fall ill, according to Kincaid, they fly to New York, use out­of­state health services. However, it is true
because they do not trust Antiguan doctors. that only people from the richest fifth of the
Furthermore, Kincaid makes a passing reference to population use non­Antiguan healthcare. One
Antigua’s defense force, which she says is too negative, however, is that only a little more than
small to actually defend the country. Although half of the population (51.1%) has health
ANTIGUA January 2010 9

10. Development
insurance, with 35% of the poorest fifth having
insurance and 69.1% of the richest fifth.
As far as the other indicators of the
population’s ability to meet needs, 13.4% of
Antiguans are unemployed (cf., 10% in the U.S.).
In terms of safety, only 3.1% of islanders report
being victims of crime annually (cf., 3.73% in the
U.S.). Also according to the report, 5.5% of the
population has inadequate access to running water
(meaning no piped water) and 20.4% of the
population has low­quality housing (defined as a
pit latrine “or worse”).
The final measure suggested by Todaro and
Smith for the first development core value is
“lessening income inequalities.” Unfortunately,
there does not seem to be long­term data on
Antigua’s economic disparity, so an accurate
determination on whether inequalities are
lessening is unlikely. However, there are current
analyses on economic equality for Antigua.
Analyzing Inequality
There are many ways to measure the level of
An old construction sign on a road from English Harbour to
economic inequality in a country. One standard
measure is the Gini index. In order to calculate the Shirley Heights serves as a metaphor for Antigua as a
Gini coefficient, economists use something called a developing country.
Lorenz Curve. Lorenz Curves plot percentage of
income (or consumption) versus the cumulative
Health and Poverty Statistics for Antigua
Births in a hospital 89.6%
Children Immunized ~100%
People with health insurance 51.1%
Poor access to water 5.5%
Chart Source: "Living Conditions in Antigua and Barbuda: Poverty in a
Children not in school 4.2% Services Economy in Transition"
In this chart, "indigent" means unable to purchase minimum
amounts of food, and "vulnerable" means living at 125% of
Unemployment rate 13.4% the poverty level.
10 ANTIGUA January 2010

11. percentage of income recipients (see Lorenz and
Gini box).
Lorenz curve and Gini
index for Antigua and
Sources: U.S. Data - Wolfram Alpha. General development data and Analysis instructions - Todaro, T.P. and S.C. Smith, Economic Development, ninth edition, 2006, Boston: Peason Addison Wesley.
As a type of yardstick, Lorenz Curves have a
line that runs along the diagonal of the graph
(45°). If the population measured by the curve had
Barbuda
perfect equality, the actual curve would match this
benchmark exactly. Actual Lorenz Curves bow
away from the 45° line – the line of equality. The
larger the bow, the more inequality there is in the
population. For example, a perfectly unequal
population – where one person or household
made all the income – would run along the bottom
horizontal axis and up the right vertical. Such a A
line would be as far away from the line of equality
as possible
B
Someone who looks at a Lorenz Curve can get
an idea of approximately how much inequality
there is in a population by seeing how far the
curve is from the diagonal line. A Gini coefficient
quantifies this difference by dividing the area Chart Source: "Living Conditions in Antigua and Barbuda:
Poverty in a Services Economy in Transition" Annotation
between the two curves by the total area under the and shading, mine.
line of equality. Therefore, a Gini coefficient of 0
would report perfect equality, and a Gini The Lorenz Curve (curved line) plots
coefficient of 1 means perfect inequality. cumulative percent of income (or in the case of
According to Todaro and Smith, 0.50 to 0.70 is the graph above, consumption) versus
considered a highly unequal distribution. cumulative percent of the population. For
Populations in the 0.20 to 0.35 range are typically example, if you were to go over to 30 on the
considered to have a relatively equal income horizontal axis, the value on the vertical axis
distribution. For comparison, the United States of matching that point shows the percent of
America has a Gini coefficient of about 0.45. consumption for the bottom (or poorest) 30% of
The Caribbean Development Bank gives a Gini the population. At 50 on the horizontal, the
coefficient of 0.48. This value, according to the vertical value is the percent consumption for the
report, is “high, even by Caribbean standards.” By lower 50% of the population. Finally, 100 on the
general standards, this number is just below the horizontal axis shows the consumption percent
lower limit of the highly unequal range. However, for the entire population, which must be 100%.
by comparison the U.S. really isn’t doing that In a situation of complete equality ­ where
much better. The report suggests that the everyone (or at least every household) had the
Antiguan government’s preference for indirect same income ­ the Lorenz Curve would match
methods of taxation and the large number of the line of equality (straight, diagonal line). Such
possible tax exemptions play a role in inequality. a situation does not exist for any significant
population in the world, so actual curves fall
under the line of equality.
A Gini coefficient is what's known as an
aggregate measure of inequality, meaning that
the coefficient attempts to condense inequality
data into a single number (see below). This
number shows quantitatively how much
difference there is between the actual economic
distribution and perfect equality (0 is perfectly
When contrasted with local shops and middle­to­low income
equal and 1 is perfectly unequal).
housing, high­end tourist spots like yacht clubs and resorts Area A
create the appearance of economic disparity. Gini coefficient =
Area (A+B)
ANTIGUA January 2010 11

12. Human Development Index
Sources: Calculation instructions from Todaro and Smith, 2006. Antigua and U.S. Data from 2009 UN Human Development report, undp.org.
Warning: Math Ahead (but with careful explanation)
In the 1990s, the United Nations decided to [ log (GDP/capita) ­ log (100) ]
Income Index =
make a comparative analysis of developing and [ log (40,000) ­ log (100) ]
developed nations. In order to facilitate
quantitative comparison, the UN developed The For Antigua, the results is
Human Development Index (HDI). Income Index = 0.873
The index attempts to combine multiple
aspects of developed society into a single measure,
which ranges from 0 to 1. The lowest rank, 0, Life Expectancy Index
represents the lowest measurable development, and
1 represents the highest measurable development. The UN estimates that the current maximum
This value is calculated using weighted reasonable life expectancy for a country is 85, and
the lower limit is 25. The life expectancy index is
averages (meaning some variables count more than
calculated by subtracting 25 (the lower limit) from
others) of life­expectancy, education, and standard a country's life expectancy and dividing that
of living. In order to calculate the HDI, four figure by the the upper limit (85) minus the lower
pieces of information are needed. They are GDP limit (25).
per capita, life expectancy, adult literacy rate, and
school enrollment.
Life expectancy (Life expectancy) ­ 25
Index =
(85 ­ 25)
Antigua HDI raw data Antigua Life expectancy index = 0.786
GDP per capita ($ PPP) 18,691 Education Index
The education index is where the weighted
Life expectancy (yrs.) 72.2 (est.) averages come into play. This index first converts
the percents to decimal form (divide by 100).
These numbers are then called the adult literacy
Adult literacy (%) 99.0 index and the gross enrollment index. The
education index is calculated by adding two­
thirds (weighted more heavily) of the literacy
Gross enrollment (%) 85.6 (est) index to one­third (weighted less heavily) of the
enrollment index.
For Antigua, the result of this simple calculation is
Income Index Education index = 0.945
The income index requires Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) per capita in U.S. dollars
For the final calculation of the HDI, each of these
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). PPP compares the
three calculated indices are equally weighted into
purchasing power of a country's currency to that
an average, meaning that one­third of all three
of the U.S. dollar by comparing how much certain
figures is added together into a final number. For
goods cost in one country to how much they cost
Antigua, this is
in the United States. The maximum a country can
achieve in GDP per capita is $40,000 PPP, a HDI = 0.868
benchmark set by Luxembourg. The HDI which gives Antigua a rank of 47 among the 187
algorithm uses a natural logarithmic function in nations compared by the U.N. Compare this to the
order to convert the GDP per capita to a decimal. twelfth­ranked ranked U.S. with an HDI of 0.956.
12 ANTIGUA January 2010

13. Development
Inequality = Bad?
Before moving on to the final two core values instability. When a small segment of the
for development, there’s a question that needs to population controls inordinate amounts of capital,
be answered. Why is reduction of inequality so that segment is able to lobby political institutions
important to economic development? It seems like to create policies that result in more control of
there should be an obvious answer, but things get capital for the upper class, widening the gap.
a little more complicated when you realize we’re Using capital for lobbying and political purposes
not talking about poverty. A nation could removes it from industrial sectors where the
eliminate poverty and still have quite a bit of money could encourage increased economic
inequality. growth. Furthermore, Todaro and Smith reference
the histories of Iran and El Salvador as examples
of inter­country conflict and political upheaval
that result from extreme inequality.
The final reason for assigning a negative value
judgment to inequality is society's view of it.
Whether morality should be a factor is a debate for
another time. Either way, the fact remains that
people make moral judgments and often make
decisions based on them, and in terms of morals,
inequality is generally considered a bad thing.
Along roadways away from tourist­heavy and yachter areas,
the landscape contains old shack houses and private
construction projects that stalled when funds ran out.
Perhaps a look back to a basic economic
development can help with figuring out why a lot
of emphasis is placed on inequality when dealing
with development. The economists Todaro and
Smith provide three primary answers to the
question of what’s wrong with inequality.
The first reason is that a large income gap
leads to an inefficient economy. High levels of
inequality usually correlate to small fractions of
the population qualifying for credit and low levels
of saving. Savings typically come from the middle
class, since the highest earners in the upper class
tend to spend money on foreign travel and luxury
goods. Economists refer to this phenomenon as
capital flight. At times, capital flight even results
in the lower class saving and investing more in a
given nation’s economy. Finally, economic
inefficiency becomes a cyclical effect. High­
income sectors emphasize quality in higher
education, often at the expense of primary Back in St. John's, where tourists arrive frequently via cruise
education, which the poorer sectors need to have ships, construction projects continue, unplagued by the
improved to get out of poverty. insufficient fund base that troubles less­developed sections of
Second, extreme inequality leads to political the island.
ANTIGUA January 2010 13

14. Development
Self-Esteem local population constantly sees people from
developed nations coming to visit. Jamaica
The last two values of economic development Kincaid was making this very point when she
are less quantifiable than the first category (though wrote that Antiguans envy tourists because
that won’t stop me from trying). Self­esteem and tourists have the resources to escape their own
freedom from servitude are also interrelated – banality and boredom. By seeing people who
especially for a one­industry service economy like are comparatively rich all the time, Antiguans
Antigua. who don’t have as much are continuously
reminded of their own poverty, causing a
feeling of low self­worth.
It is important to remember that these
statements are really just conjecture at this point.
In order to know if Antiguans really do have low
self­esteem as a result of tourism, someone needs
to go ask them about their thoughts on tourists,
which is exactly what I did. However, I’m saving
those conversations for later (later being page 20).
In the meantime, though, we can look at Antigua’s
score on the Human Development Index (see
page 12), since Todaro and Smith suggest that
economic prosperity is linked to self­esteem.
Antigua scores a 0.868 on the HDI, ranking them
Just a few minutes' walk from where the cruise ships dock in
47 of 187, which is in the top third of countries
St. John's is a casino, which, according to locals, is a analyzed. By comparison, the United States scores
significant attraction for tourists. 0.956, making us number 12 of 187. Antigua is not
at the top of the list, but they are definitely not at
Self­esteem is about having a sense of self­ the bottom, either.
worth and not feeling like a pawn for other In fact, as of 2008, the Organization for
people. Although what it means to have this Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
strong sense of identity might vary from culture to labeled Antigua a high­income country, putting
Sources: 2008 OECD Data - worldbank.org; 2003 OECD Data - Todaro and Smith, 2006.
culture, there are some modern values that seem them in highest category of countries when ranked
somewhat widespread. The most prominent of by income per capita – for the economists in the
these values, Todaro and Smith point out, are the audience, GNI per capita. It might be interesting
desires for economic prosperity and technological to note that this ranking is an improvement from
capabilities. 2003 when Antigua and Barbuda was ranked as an
Just offhand, this idea seems like it would be Upper­middle­income country – the second
particularly true for a tourist economy where the highest category.
Buildings outside of tourist areas have nowhere near the shine of those in St. John's or other spots frequented by tourists.
14 ANTIGUA January 2010

15. Source: Piraszewska, K. "Economic Significance of Tourism in the Lesser Antilles." Miscellanea Geographica. Vol. 1 2, 206. 269-275.
Just outside of the East Bus Station, which is used by tourists and locals to navigate the island, vendors sell Antigua bags, t­
shirts, and other souvenirs.
Freedom from Servitude Kincaid argues that Antiguans don’t have the
freedom to choose what they spend their lives
Since the idea of self­esteem includes not doing. Her main example is that children are
feeling like a tool for others to use, it is connected encouraged to aspire to attend a school that
to the idea of freedom. Jamaica Kincaid links teaches individuals how to work at hotels.
Antigua’s services economy to the island’s history Kincaid's point is that Antiguans work in tourism,
of slavery. In her view, the rich people in the and that’s just the way it is. They don’t really
world see Antiguans as objects of interest – things have a choice. In describing this last value for
to be seen, like tourist attractions. In her mind, development, Todaro and Smith use some
this state is reminiscent of a time when the people language that is, coincidentally, apropos of
of Antigua were objects for sale. Antigua’s history: “Freedom here is to be
understood as the sense of emancipation from
alienating material conditions of life and from
social servitude to nature, ignorance, other people
…” (emphasis added).
How much freedom do the people of the
island really have in their careers? As I tried to
find out exactly how much of Antigua’s economy
depends on tourism, I found estimates ranging
between 40 and 60%. The problem was that there
was no explanation for the method used to arrive
at the percentages. What qualifies something as
depending on tourism? I eventually found a
study with a satisfactorily explained ­ and pretty
insightful ­ method.
The study, “Economic Significance of Tourism
Several banks on Antigua serve tourists through in the Lesser Antilles,” was done by Katarzyna
currency exchange and 24­hour ATM access. Piraszewska at the Institute of Developing
ANTIGUA January 2010 15

16. Development
big surprise, however, comes with the redone
employment figures. According to the study, the
percent of jobs on Antigua that depend on tourism
is a whopping 94.8%. So, if we’re asking the
question of whether someone can have a job not
related to tourism, the answer is “not really.” But,
if not having a job in tourism just means not
directly interacting with tourists, then people have
a pretty good shot, since only 33.6% of jobs are
directly related to tourism.
Now, there is one glaring problem with these
figures. They are old. The paper giving these
numbers was published in 2001. The problem is
that most current figures on tourism don’t provide
much information on what the basis of the
numbers is. The U.S. State Department reports a
figure of 50% for Antigua and Barbuda (even this
figure is a little dated, being from 2005).
Assuming that this number represents the tourism
industry and not the tourism economy, that
Every Sunday and Thursday night at Shirley Heights (the represents a 48.8% increase from the earlier figure
highest point on the island) there is a steel band and reggae of 33.6%. If the tourism economy figure similarly
singer, along with grilled food and drinks. This twice­weekly increased, then all of Antigua’s (actually, a little
party, with a cover charge on par with U.S. clubs, is a major more than all of it) economy would be dependent
attraction for tourists. on tourism.
Countries. The method used is called the satellite
accounting method. Rather than limiting itself to
employment and transaction statistics that are
directly related to tourism – like hotels,
restaurants, resorts, etc. – the methods tries to find
jobs and transactions that exist because of tourism
– that is, ones that are indirectly related. For
example, the soap being used in hotels where
tourists stay would not have been purchased if it
weren’t for tourism.
Fortunately, the study parses out the direct
and indirect data for comparison. By just looking Along the city streets in Antigua's capital, tour guides and
at the part of the GDP of Antigua and Barbuda taxi drivers offer excursions and transportation.
made up of the tourism industry – that is, directly
from tourism – the figure is 24.0%. I have to say,
Regardless of the dates and exact numbers, it
Source: 2008 Tourism Industry % of GDP - state.gov
after having gone to Antigua, if someone told me
is quite apparent that Antigua’s economy is
that only 24% of the GDP came from tourism, I
overwhelmingly dependent on tourism, and
wouldn’t believe it. (By the way, the number that
almost all of the job market services tourism in
most Antiguans give when asked is 85%).
some capacity. So, at least by the numbers,
Similarly, by looking at employment directly from
Kincaid may have hit that one on the nose. It
the tourism industry, 33.6% of jobs come from
certainly doesn’t look like someone from Antigua
tourism.
can have a job not related to tourism, since in 2001
Now, looking at what the study calls “Tourism
about 95% of the jobs came from that area.
Economy,” which is direct and indirect
composition of the GDP and job market, the
numbers go up substantially. The percent of GDP
from the tourism economy is 77.7%, which is,
honestly, slightly lower than I would expect. The
16 ANTIGUA January 2010

17. Briefing
Inequality? Industry
A bit of inequality and a bunch of tourism are clear parts of Antigua. However,
this is the current state of the island. So one important question might be,
“How did things get this way?”
Appearance of Inequality find out what was wrong with my original
intuition!
First of all, the statistics suggest much less of Researching the reason for the appearance of
an inequality gap than my perception of the economic disparity actually ended up disproving
island. In fact, one of the things that got me another of my intuitions: that researching the
interested in looking into Antigua’s economy was appearance of economic disparity was going to be
that the island seemed to have a starker contrast in long and tedious and require looking into
the quality of life between the people in tourist centuries of political history. Turns out, it just took
areas of the island and the people who lived in one newspaper article from 2001 that the Museum
sections not frequented by tourists. of Antigua and Barbuda happened to include in
Basically, the numbers violate my intuition. response to my general request for information on
My training from the physical sciences (one of my Antiguan economics and history. The article is a
majors is Physics) tells me that a violation of transcription of the Antiguan equivalent of a State
sensibilities calls for immediate action: I have to of the Union address.
ANTIGUA January 2010 17