competition not only within, but also between countries with variants in the kind of market capitalism they practice. one author, bruno amable has identified five types of market capitalism, each characterized by specific institutional forms, and particular institutional complementarities : 1. the market based model ; 2. the social democratic model ; 3. the continental european model ; 4. the mediterranean model ; 5. the asian model. these models which we will not describe in detail, are characterized by a greater or lesser degree of state involvement, the particular role of financial and labour markets and the presence or absence of welfare state arrangements. the fact of the matter is that market failure and / or corporate malfeasance can create havoc with economic, political and social arrangements and stability. regulation by the state, social welfare or social protection mechanisms, and the self regulation of private sector entities are critical for stability, growth and development. the rights of shareholders, the rights of participants in pension funds, and the rights of ordinary citizens to enjoy the economic benefits of being part of a community are intrinsically enshrined in the social contract between state and citizen and to the extent that they become threatened, become enshrined in the laws of the country. this certainly is the case in the nation state where the concept of public goods and public policy represent the necessity to protect citizens ’ rights en bloc and not a particular section of the society. since the world is now so interdependent and contagion both in the economic and financial spheres is no longer a theoretical construct, but a highly possible event, there is an understanding that there are such things as international public goods and that corporate governance therefore extends beyond national borders. the most obvious area which reflects this is the financial arena and international standards and codes have started and proliferated from this arena into other related areas. the successive financial crises in different regimes of the world over the last two decades have manifestly illustrated the impact of the volatility of the financial system on both economic and political events. a special g22 working group on transparency and accountability was established in the late 1990s to review and report on this matter. they concluded that “ inadequate transparency by international organizations, national and governmental units, and private sector entities was a contributing force to the serious financial disturbances that have plagued the global economy ”. they concluded that markets cannot function efficiently and that they will continue to be highly vulnerable to instability, in the absence of adequate, reliable and timely information from all quarters.

scale. this will require the satisfactory resolution of three issues : 1. uniformity of legislation and regulation ; 2. appropriate technology ; and 3. the question of ownership. if our financial sector in the region is to reach its full potential the rules under which it operates must not be so widely different that they become more of an obstacle course than a facilitator of innovation and development. the amazing thing about the caribbean is how seriously we take our insularity. we come to the table with ingrained notions of how different we are, and argue vehemently about points which are in the wider scheme of things, singularly unimportant except to the protagonist who has been charged with protecting national pride and sovereignty with his life. on a less serious note, and this being trinidad where picong is a way of life, can you imagine a jamaican, trinidadian or barbadian conceding an argument to someone from the oecs and living to tell the tale! we must recognise that in a rule based environment, when there is the need for progress, the rules must be uniform and simple. once there are deviations and exceptions, rules become restrictions and not what they should be, that is, sign posts to allow progress to be made. the utilisation of technology is a critical factor in the evolution and development of the financial sector. the ability to connect across long distances and the necessity to handle large volumes of transactions at high speeds is the rationale for the use of technology. for our region, where face to face meetings are costly, both in terms of time and money, other means of communication through video and teleconferencing are important constructs for our progress. we must invest significantly in technology if we are going to be successful. ownership is a critical factor in any integration arrangement. integration in a fundamental way has to do with the allocation of productive resources and the distribution of benefits across countries. in a situation where capital and labour cannot move, benefits only accrue to the country or place where productive resources are located. if labour and capital can move freely then labour in a country where the productive resource is not located, can move to that location, and the benefits can be spread in that way. with the movement of capital, individuals can purchase shares in the enterprise and enjoy benefits while not being resident. this means of sharing benefits through the financial sector is much more palatable in the first instance and therefore stakes out a special place for