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Building Economic Resilience In Small States

10 March 2005

Small States
This workshop addressed one of the recommendations of the International Meeting on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.
A workshop on Building and Measuring the Economic Resilience of Small States was held in Gozo, Malta, from 7 to 9 March 2005. The workshop was jointly organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the University of Malta. The University's Economics Department and its Islands and Small States Institute at the Foundation for International Studies were involved in the workshop, which aimed to identify economic, social, environmental and governance factors that promote economic resilience-building in small states. This workshop addressed one of the recommendations of the International Meeting on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which took place in Mauritius in January this year. 

Experts from the Commonwealth, the World Bank and the UN Conference on Trade and Development made presentations on macroeconomic and other issues that impact on resilience-building. The workshop participants examined measures to strengthen and promote economic resilience, including the development of a resilience index to support decision-making.

Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Director of the Secretariat's Economic Affairs Division, said: "This was an example of how the Commonwealth can take forward international agreements and be responsive to the needs of its member states. Practical approaches are needed to build the economic resilience of small states. This workshop provided a platform for delegates to share their views and to gauge the progress their countries have made towards sustainable development." 

This second workshop follows one launched last year, also in Malta, which led to the publication of a book, 'Economic Vulnerability and Resilience of Small States'. This book contains a range of studies that demonstrate that good governance and appropriate macroeconomic policies in a small state can, to an extent, mitigate the drawbacks of economic vulnerability. It examines the distinction between inherent and self-inflicted vulnerability, serving as a resource book for policy-makers and governments of small states faced with issues and policies on developing resilience.


CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 225 9 March 2005

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