Global Imperatives and Economic Reform in the Pacific Island States
Author(s)
Sutherland, William
Abstract
Since the mid-1990’s, a series of economic reform programs has been underway in the Pacific Island states. This article links the origins, pace, and scope of the reforms to the development of a regional reform agenda, the key site for which was the leading regional organization, the South Pacific Forum. The author details some of the measures and reforms undertaken and argues that the fashioning and elaboration of the regional reform agenda was driven primarily by external forces, particularly donors, in an attempt to compel the island states to respond to the imperatives of globalization.
