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Trade Impact Review: Jamaica Case Study PDF Print E-mail

Working collaboratively with the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), the Women’s Edge Coalition (re-named Women Thrive Worldwide January 2008) assessed the economic and legal/regulatory impact of trade liberalization on Jamaica’s poor and forecasted the potential effects of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTTA) on those living in poverty in Jamaica, particularly women.

This case study focuses on what the outcomes of trade liberalization have been on those living in poverty, particularly women. Trade negotiators have advocated open markets under the assumption that greater integration into the global economy will lead to a reduction in poverty. However, to date, trade liberalization has resulted in both positive and negative effects for low-income men and women. In Jamaica, nearly half of households are headed by women and tend to experience more severe poverty than male-headed households.

Download the Jamaica Case Study

The case study applied the Trade Impact Review (TIR), a rigorous yet accessible framework that can enable trade negotiators, governments, and others to forecast the potential benefits and drawbacks of a trade agreement before the agreement is ratified. The TIR framework, developed by the Women’s Edge Coalition in 2002, assesses the direct and indirect economic effects of a change in trade or investment policy as well as the legal and regulatory changes or conflicts that a new trade policy may pose. Using this tool, policymakers can expand on the areas where the poor will benefit and modify trade language that would harm the poor, particularly women, the majority of the world’s poor.

 

Click here to download the Jamaica Case Study
 
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