The Evolution of Caribbean Social Policy: Reasons for the Changes and Shifts in the Social Policy Agenda from the 1940’s to the Present Period

THE EVOLUTION OF CARIBBEAN SOCIAL POLICY: Reasons for the Changes and Shifts in the Social Policy Agenda From the 1940’s to the Present Period.

By Hyacinth O. Blake

INTRODUCTION

Social Policy may be broadly defined as a system of social welfare that includes economic as well as non-economic objectives and involves some measure of progressive redistribution in command over resources1. Using Mishra’s typology of social welfare models (see Fig. 1 below), this paper describes the evolution of social policy in the English-speaking Caribbean. Drawing primarily from the experiences of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, four chronological periods are used to highlight the factors contributing to the major developments in social policy: 1) the Immediate Post-War Period and the Moyne Commission (1940 to 1950); 2) Transition to Self-Government (1950 to 1961); 3) Ideology and the Immediate Post-Independence Period (1962 to 1973); 4) the Oil Crisis, World Recession and Structural Adjustment (1970 to 1980’s); 5) (Conclusion) The Present Period (1990 to present)2. A review of the literature revealed that a combination of social, economic, political/ideological and international factors contributed to policy development at each stage of this evolutionary process. This paper argues that as a result of these factors, Caribbean social policy gradually moved from a strong residual approach prior to the Moyne report, and tended to a more institutional approach during the transition period to full internal self-government, then to a more structural approach in the immediate post-independence period, and back to a residual approach when structural adjustment policies were instituted in the 1980’s. Of course, in reality the policies formulated in the various periods do not conform perfectly to Mishra’s types. However, this does not detract from the applicability of the model to the present analysis, as it is an inherent feature of all ideal types (as is implied by the descriptor “ideal”). Also, while the general factors contributing to the evolution of Caribbean social policy has been highlighted, the specific ways in which these factors manifested in each country are extensively discussed.

Fig. 1

Mishra’s Welfare Models1

Main Features

Type of Welfare

Residual

Institutional

Structural

State responsibility in meeting needs (ideology of state intervention)

Minimal

Optimal

Total

Need-based distribution as a value

Marginal

Secondary

Primary

Range of statutory services (other than the Poor Law)