Investigating the Relationship between Residential Construction and Economic Growth in a Small Developing Country: The Case of Barbados

Abstract

With the ongoing global financial crisis – which began with the collapse of the US sub-prime market in 2007 – the Barbadian economy is expected to contract in 2009. As a means of stimulating economic activity and providing job opportunities, the government has committed itself to completing 572 houses during the 2009/10 financial year. However, the arguments in favour of allocating more resources to residential construction have not been based on the existence of empirical analyses. This paper empirically investigates the relationship between residential construction and economic growth for Barbados. The historical data suggests that there is bi-directional causality between economic growth and residential construction. Hence, a policy that stimulates the housing market may boost economic activity.