Purpose – This paper aims to examine the export‐led growth hypothesis for Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG). Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigates the export‐led growth hypothesis for Fiji and PNG who have been facing dismal economic growth performances over the last couple...

Trade liberalization policies pursued by the Pacific Forum Island Countries (FICs) have been further cemented as an appropriate strategy for economic growth through the recently adopted trade agreements. Proponents of trade liberalization also argue that free trade leads to improvements in...

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main institutional and governance issues facing the Pacific Island countries (PIC) and to point out how they affect their economic performance. The paper also provides a description of the key characteristics of the PIC...

A body of evidence accumulated over the past several years, via different methods and estimation techniques, using firm –and household-level data, across many regions and countries show that finance matters for growth. Yet the role of finance in fostering growth in the Pacific, ironically, a...

Does finance really lead to economic growth? A growing strand of literature finds positive and strong link between finance and growth. On the other hand, research has also questioned the robustness of the finance – growth nexus. Generally, however, there is some consensus that finance –...

The Fijian economy seems to be have made a sustained recovery since 2011 after the impact of the economic fallout from the December 2006 coup. However, the recovery may not be as great as is being forecast by the Reserve Bank of Fiji. Higher growth rates have mostly remained elusive, despite the...