Vejamos, no entretanto, o que os outros estão a fazer

Acompanhei sempre com interesse as respostas que outras ilhas e arquipélagos davam  às questões económicas e de outro tipo com que, também, os Açores e as outras RUP se confrontavam. Nisso, o caso da ilha Maurícia sempre ressaltou como paradigmático do que se consegue fazer com sucesso mesmo no quadro desfavorável da articulação da distância com a pequenez e o isolamento. Em todo o caso, a descrição de Stiglitz abaixo, ainda assim, surpreendeu-me um tanto ao quanto - não estará a forçar a nota quando torna a Maurícia numa história tão exemplar, talvez, para frisar tudo aquilo que os EUA não estão a fazer? 

No entretanto, pensem no que é necessário para que, do ponto de vista da reflexão estratégica, se consiga ir fazendo aquilo que se tem vindo a fazer na Ilha Maurícia desde a década de sessenta do século passado.

The Mauritius Miracle by Joseph E. Stiglitz - Project Syndicate:Suppose someone were to describe a small country that provided free education through university for all of its citizens, transportation for school children, and free health care – including heart surgery – for all. You might suspect that such a country is either phenomenally rich or on the fast track to fiscal crisis.

But Mauritius, a small island nation off the east coast of Africa, is neither particularly rich nor on its way to budgetary ruin. Nonetheless, it has spent the last decades successfully building a diverse economy, a democratic political system, and a strong social safety net. Many countries, not least the US, could learn from its experience.

In a recent visit to this tropical archipelago of 1.3 million people, I had a chance to see some of the leaps Mauritius has taken – accomplishments that can seem bewildering in light of the debate in the US and elsewhere. Consider home ownership: while American conservatives say that the government’s attempt to extend home ownership to 70% of the US population was responsible for the financial meltdown, 87% of Mauritians own their own homes – without fueling a housing bubble.

Now comes the painful number: Mauritius’s GDP has grown faster than 5% annually for almost 30 years. Surely, this must be some “trick.” Mauritius must be rich in diamonds, oil, or some other valuable commodity. But Mauritius has no exploitable natural resources. Indeed, so dismal were its prospects as it approached independence from Britain, which came in 1968, that the Nobel Prize-winning economist James Meade wrote in 1961: “It is going to be a great achievement if [the country] can find productive employment for its population without a serious reduction in the existing standard of living….[T]he outlook for peaceful development is weak.”

As if to prove Meade wrong, the Mauritians have increased per capita income from less than $400 around the time of independence to more than $6,700 today. The country has progressed from the sugar-based monoculture of 50 years ago to a diversified economy that includes tourism, finance, textiles, and, if current plans bear fruit, advanced technology.During my visit, my interest was to understand better what had led to what some have called the Mauritius Miracle, and what others might learn from it. There are, in fact, many lessons, some of which should be borne in mind by politicians in the US and elsewhere as they fight their budget battles.

"- Sent using Google Toolbar"