USVI Public Records

Document text

BULK RATE PERMIT NO. 17 CHARLOTTE AMALIE VIRGIN ISLANDS POSTAGE PAID COVICRIER Fone 3647 REQUESTED COLLEGE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, CARIBBEAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE, ST. THOMAS, V.1. 00801 Volume 2. No.1 March 1978 CONFERENCES ECONOMIC DEVELOP- Dr. Norwell Harrigan, Director, C.R.I. and Dr. Jerome MENT CONFERENCE McElroy, Senior Research Associate were participants in the Conference on Economic Development of Small States with special reference to the U.S. Off Shore Areas in the Caribbean, spon- sored by the Institute of International Law and Eccnomic Development at the Condado Beach Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico March 12-15, 197&. Dr. Harrigan was discussant for a paper "The Economic Development Strategy of the Us9.Vsle™ presented by Mr. John Tinsley, Chief Economist and Dr. McElroy presented a papar on "Internal and External Policy Constraints in Small Island Context." Dr. Harrigan stated that attending the Conference had served to reinforce his long-held view that solutions to our peculiar problems can be success- fully attacked only by our own initiatives. Attempts to adopt models con- structed for other places are not likely to assist in our development quest. HISTORIANS Institute staff participated in the Tenth Annual Confer- CONFERENCE ence of Caribbean Historians held on the St. Thomas campus from 26-30 March, 1978. The director was moderator for the conference session dealing with Economic History at which Dr. S.B Jones- Hendrickson presented a paper on "Public Policy in the U.S.V.I., 1917-1946." CARIBBEAN STUDIES Dr. S.B. Jones-Hendrickson attended as an invited ASSOCIATION CON- panel discussant, in the economic section, the 3rd. Annual FERENCES Caribbean studies Association Conference, Universidad Catolica, Madre y Maetra, Santiago des Caballeros, Dominican Republic, January 11-13, 1978. ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH CENTER LARVAL REARING Dr. F. D. Martin of the University of Maryland visited the LABORATORY Institute to discuss cooperative efforts in establishing a fish Larval Rearing Laboratory. Further work will be necessary before any decision is taken. B. A Paper "A Tourism Economic Model" was prepared for Social Sciences Division by Dr. S.B. Jones-Hendrickson. The basic aim of the paper was to develop a model of tourism economic planning for Microstates. Essential to the core of the model is the issue of density of tourists vis-a-vis the size of the economies and the population of the economies in question. Summary statements are: (1) decision regarding any tourism development should have all of the inputs of as many residents of the tourist resort, as is feasible; (2) active planning should be implemented to avert destruction of the resort, such destruction that may emanate from ecological and environmental damages; and (3) there has to be a trade-off between revenues deriving from tourism and socio-economic damage resulting from tourism. Cc. The fundamental underpinning of the paper "Public Policy in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 1917-1946" presented by S.B. Jones-Hendrickson at the 10th Conference of Caribbean Historians, C.V.I., March 26-April 19978 ,was that much of the socio-economic upheavals in the V.I. today are closely linked to the policies and attitudes of "company" policies towards the administra- tion in the period 1917-1946. Evidence for this view centers on the salient discernable features of naval administration, the dominance of the Virgin Islands Company and the Virgin Islands Corporation in the affairs of the territory, and finally, the big business attitude of Washington towards the Virgin Islands. The paper argued that the historical cum sociological forces of 1917-1946 have conditioned, in the Pavlovian sense, the public policies of today's political directorate. OTHER NEWS Dr. S.B. Jones-Hendrickson was appointed for a three year term to the Committee on Public Utility and Transportation Taxation of the National Tax Association-Tax institute of America, January 8.