The Pacific Islands and the Globalization Agenda

Abstract

Globalization is now a central theme in the affairs of the Pacific Islands, and Pacific Islands governments are caught up in the rhetoric, the ideology, and the economic policies of globalization. Policymakers in governments and regional organizations pepper their conversations with phrases drawn from that branch of politics called economics. These include "achieving effective private-public sector partnerships," "improving the attractiveness of the foreign investment regime," "facilitating investment transparency," "adopting free and open trade amongst our Island countries," "reducing public sector subsidies," "promoting integration into the world economy," "enabling public enterprises to operate on commercial principles," "providing a policy environment to encourage commercial activity," and "encouraging the development of the private sector so that it assumes a leading role as the primary engine of growth."