GENERAL DATA CHALLENGES FACING THE CARIBBEAN IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT By

This document has not yet been subjected to the editorial process at ECLAC. The ideas expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily express the position of the Organization of which he is a staff member. GENERAL DATA CHALLENGES FACING THE CARIBBEAN This paper observes the concern for the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the face of the external world environment which comprises geophysical and environmental concerns as well as the social, economic and governance concerns that have emerged more visibly with globalization. Globalization has placed the onus on countries to remove the imperfection of competition by a more ample information and governance set. Closer monitoring of production costs, product lines, markets, quality, and environmental/ethical issues has become a sine qua non to a successful insertion into the global economy. This requirement justified the earlier efforts of the Bretton Woods organizations to standardize the concepts, definitions and measuring instruments that determined economic and social status and progress. The justification of the need for organized data collection and processing did not, however