Working Paper Series: Special Edition of 2016 to 2018 Interns

growth prior to the crisis, with growth reaching a high of 12.7 per cent in 2006. By contrast, the country recorded negative growth rates for three consecutive years subsequent to the crisis. Similarly, the remaining member countries experienced a high degree of volatility in their growth outcomes prior to and following the crisis; however, there were differences in the magnitude of the impact. Currently, the economies of the Eastern Caribbean are still recovering from the crisis and have yet to return to their pre-crisis growth levels.

Figure 2: Real GDP Growth in the ECCU 1980 to 2016 (%)

10.0 12.0

2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0

(8.0) (6.0) (4.0) (2.0) -

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

Source ECCB

2.3 Vulnerabilities of the ECCU Countries During the period 1950 to 1980, the ECCU countries experienced 24 natural disasters compared with 68 weather-related events over the period 1981 to 2016 (Appendix Table 1), highlighting the higher level of vulnerability to these events. In addition, the costs incurred by natural disasters have grown significantly in real terms over the years. During the period 1980 to 2016, the countries of the ECCU sustained a cumulative cost of damages ranging from a low of EC$6.3m in Anguilla to a high of EC$2.4b in Grenada (Figure 3).

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