Phasing out of protection and its impact on employment in a small- and high-trade dependence island economy named Mauritius

This paper analyses the impact of trade liberalisation in Mauritius, leading to the erosion of protection, on employment in two sectors (the sugar sector and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ)) whose growth have been dependent on such protection. The findings emanating from the study reveal that the loss of jobs in the sugar sector has been due to technology-transfer, though this transfer is itself a result of the globalisation process. The decline in employment in the EPZ sector can be partly explained by trade liberalisation, though the extent of the latter is a determining factor.