The economy of French Polynesia after the nuclear boom

Abstract

French Polynesia has a history of economic dependence on French public transfers. The dependence on military spending grew during the 1960s and 1970s due to France's atomic-testing activities in the Tuamotu Archipelago, which ended in 1995. Since then, the official strategy, stated in the Pacte de Progr's in 1993, has been to promote export and tourism revenues, as a substitute for French public transfers. The strategy has not, however, been successful because the policy measures necessary to reach this goal have not been implemented. High costs and prices due to protectionist policies, the high cost of public administration and the Pacific franc's high real exchange rate continue to have negative effects on export and tourism.