THE EVOLUTION OF CARIBBEAN SOCIAL POLICY Essay -- essays research pape

THE EVOLUTION OF CARIBBEAN SOCIAL POLICY Reasons for the Changes and Shifts in the Social Policy Agenda From the 1940s to the inaugurate Period. 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 Mishras typology of social welfare models (see Fig. 1 below), this paper describes the developing of social polity 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 neighboring(a) 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 1980s) 5) (Conclusion) Th e 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 preliminary prior to the Moyne report, and tended to a more institutional come up 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 1980s. Of course, in reality the policies formulated in the various periods do not conform perfectly to Mishras types. However, this does not cut 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 facto rs 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 Mishras Welfare Models1 Main Features typecast of WelfareResidualInstitutionalStructuralState responsibility in meeting needs (ideology of state intervention)MinimalOptimal... ...Henry, Ralph and Moesire, Alicia. Poverty Alleviation and Reduction Programmes the ground Caribbean Experience in Poverty, Empowerment and Social Development in the Caibbean. Ed, Norman Girvan. Mona Canoe calf love UWI, 1997, 101 136. Mac Pherson, Stewart. Social Policy in the 3rd World The Social Dilemmas of Underdevelopment. UK Wheatsheaf Books Ltd. 1982. Neil, Joan. Targeting and Poverty New Trends in Social Policy Social Projects for Alleviation in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. UNECLAC, 1992. Robothom, Don. Social and Economic Policy start Gates and End-States, UWI, 1995. Sinha, D.P. Health Care of The Popula tion in Children of the Caribbean. CFNI/PAHO, 198 8. 123-144. Stone, Carl. Power Policy and Politics in Independent Jamaica in Jamaican in Independence Essays on the Early Years. Ed, Rex Nettleford. Kingston Heinemann Caribbean, 1989, 19-53. Thomas, Clive, Y. The interrelationship between economic and social development in Poverty, Empowerment and Social Development in the Caribbean. Ed, Norman Girvan. Mona Canoe Press UWI, 1997, 20-49. Titmuss, R. Social Policy An Introduction.