Today, most of the countries in Central America and the Caribbean share a common set of problems and structural characteristics that are the result of a similar history of economic development. The specific articulation of these characteristics and the severity of the economic problems in any particular country, of course, vary. In general, the economies of the region are small, agricultural export economies. Sugar, bananas, coffee, and meat have been the main export items for most countries, but natural resource exports-bauxite and oil-have played a key role for a few Caribbean countries.

List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- 1 .Economic Development in Central America and the Caribbean: The Role of Nontraditional Exports /Eva Paus -- PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION: CASE STUDIES -- 2 Costa Rica /Andrew Zimbalist -- 3 Dominican Republic /John A. Mathieson -- 4 Guatemala /Philip E. Karp -- 5 Panama /Andrew Zimbalist -- 6 Belize /Philip E. Karp -- 7 Honduras /Kathleen D. Heffernan -- 8 Jamaica /John A. Mathieson -- 9 Cuba /Andrew Zimbalist -- 10 A Critical Look at Nontraditional Export Demand: The Caribbean Basin Initiative /Eva Paus -- About the Editor and Contributors -- About the Series -- Index.