Marginal Intra-Industry Trade: The Case of Jamaica's Trade with CARICOM

Abstract

Of the dearth of empirical studies on marginal intra-industry trade, there is a relative paucity of empirical evidence involving developing countries. The major contribution of this article is two-fold: Firstly, it measures to our knowledge for the first time the extent of Jamaica's marginal intra-industry trade with CARICOM. This study is warranted bearing in mind that Jamaica's involvement in recent integration efforts with CARICOM will have adjustment costs implications. Secondly, we compare the performance of various Jamaican export sectors with their CARICOM counterparts. The article concludes by proposing some recommendations for policy makers to ensure smoother functioning of the Jamaican labour market.