Surviving Fiscal Odysseys in the Caribbean

In the aftermath of the globalfinancial crisis and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent diminishing fiscal spaces of small islands, fiscalpolicy and the search forfiscal sustainability have regainedprominence on both policy and research agendas. Strengtheningfiscal rules andfiscal institutions have indeed emerged as a key response to the fiscal legacy of the crisis. This is more evident across small island economies in the Caribbean, especially the tourism-dependent island economies. While the recent surge in policy debates and discussion is certainly a sign of the mountingfiscalpressures, these are by no means new to the Caribbean. Over half-a-century ago fiscal matters were prominently on the Caribbean federation agenda. Nevertheless, fiscal sustainability remains ephemeral and illusionary;indeed, an odyssey in the Caribbean.

Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceptions and sentiments of tourism employees: evidence from a small island tourism economy in the Caribbean

PurposeBuilding on tourism crisis studies and behavioral economics, this study describes a national survey conducted among 439 Aruban tourism and nontourism employees.Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis was subsequently conducted to analyze the relationship between experienced well-being, crisis duration and tourism and nontourism employee sentiments.FindingsThe findings indicate that tourism employee sentiments are generally, and significantly, more negative and their concerns about the future are significantly more pessimistic than nontourism employees. The results show that the experienced well-being and expected duration of the COVID-19 crisis have a significant negative effect on tourism employees' sentiments. The paper provides several policies and industry recommendations for strengthening tourism employee well-being and economic resilience. Several avenues for future research are presented.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to this literature by showing that the increased pessimism and negativity of the tourism employees as compared to nontourism employees during the current pandemic influence their thoughts about future income and earnings as well as future purchases.