Introduction
Columbus explored Dominican Republic on his first voyage in 1492. He named it La Española, and his son, Diego, was its first viceroy. The capital, Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. In 1821 Spanish rule was overthrown, but in 1822 the Haitians reconquered the colony. In 1844 the Haitians were thrown out, and the Dominican Republic was established, headed by Pedro Santana. Haitian attacks led Santana to make the country a province of Spain from 1861 to 1865. The Dominican Republic is a lower middle-income developing country primarily dependent on natural resources and government services.
Although the service sector has recently overtaken agriculture as the leading employer of Dominicans ,ue principally to growth in tourism and Free Trade Zones, agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption and is in second place in terms of export earnings. Tourism accounts for more than $1.3 billion in annual earnings. According to the 2005 Annual Report of the United Nations Subcommittee on Human Development in the Dominican Republic, the country is ranked #71 in the world for resource availability, # 94 for human development, and #14 in the world for resource mismanagement.. The Dominican Republic enjoys a growing economy with CIA World Fact book stating a 10.7% Real growth percentage in 2006 even though Inflation holds a 8.2% in the economy.
(Dominican Republic News & Information Service, 2006)
The Environment of Business
A. General Information
The Dominican Republic in the West Indies occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. Its area equals that of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. The capi ...