Agriculture: vulnerability factor for small island developing states?
Résumé
Since the 70s, scholars have assumed that the structural features of the agricultural sector are intrinsic factors of vulnerability for Small Island Territories. This article aims at testing the relationships between the weight of agriculture and the macroeconomic vulnerability. We build a composite index to measure agricultural vulnerability: AVI. This index is composed of four subindices that quantify the weight of agriculture in: exports concentration, openness degree, added value and employment. We apply this index on a worldwide sample that includes four categories of economies: Small Island Territories, developed countries, countries with an average development outcome, developing countries. We study the relationships between the AVI and a multimetric macroeconomic index of vulnerability- resilience (NVRI). We then provide a better understanding of the diverse contributions of agriculture to development. Our results shed light on the absence of an absolute determinism between the weight of agriculture and the macroeconomic vulnerability. To reinforce the macro-resilience of a country, the key priority in terms of policy strategy should be to adjust the macro conditions of production. This policy action conceives agriculture as a key sector for sustainability, which makes stand against the common prescription of abandoning agricultural activity. Precisely, the higher is the AVI, the riskier it is to implement radical changes to exist from agriculture before solving the macroeconomic failures.