Barbados' Debt Crisis: The Effects of Colonialism and Neoliberalism

Lecture Center 12

This research project explains the correlation between the tourism sector and the cycle of debt in Barbados. Barbados has continuously incurred debt since its independence from Great Britain in 1966 to present day. As of 2017, the estimated national debt of Barbados was $7.92 billion (USD). Sir Hillary Beckles, Michael Howard, and other economic experts and professors at the University of the West Indies, believe that the country has gone into debt for a variety of different reasons. Barbados incurred such a staggering debt due in part to its violent history of chattel slavery, the decline of the island’s sugar industry, and the migration of citizens, who were looking for a better opportunity overseas. I argue that while no one factor has singularly contributed to create the nation’s debt, however, the shift to tourism as the island’s leading industry has caused the debt to increase significantly. The government clearly favors continued tourism development and has reduced corporate taxation by twenty percent in 2018. As a result, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), Sandals Resort International, and other international corporations have benefited greatly from these tax breaks and contracts which have allowed them to establish their businesses on the island. The government’s frivolous actions of giving away money to many non-Bajan private and corporate investors for the purposes of international tourism has ultimately hurt the economy and the citizens of Barbados.