Sustainability, aid, and material welfare in small south pacific island economies, 1900–1990

Abstract

The paper discusses the concept of “sustainability” and puts forward the argument that conventional notions of what constitutes economic development cannot be applied mechanistically to the very small island economies of the Pacific. In practice, what matters is whether the entitlement of island communities to rent incomes remains sustainable. This in turn requires that labor access to the modern capitalist economies of the region continues or is opened up and that the major regional powers continue to subsidize consumption levels in the small island countries unless or until those countries achieve a satisfactory level of rent income. Both of these conditions hinge upon the long-run political commitment of aid-donor governments to the welfare of island communities and on the skills of island politicians and officials in negotiating and maneuvering for access to aid funds from competing donors.