BAJAN SUN
Bajan Sun Magazine
SEPT 2014
Barbadian Village Shops
Liquor Licensing
Socio-Economic Benefits of Lower License Fees:
T
he social and economic benefits of lower license fees
are indisputable. Lower license fees allow shop
operators to invest resources in infrastructure and
innovations in services and applications. Moreover, they
lead to lower prices for consumers.
The trade-off between license fees and other
considerations must be analyzed. All shop operators’
revenues are capped by demand factors of the country.
These factors include demographics such as; the size of the
potential customer base, per capita GDP and the price
elasticity of demand. To the extent that government
ministries charge high licence fees, this affects the
viability of a Shop operator’s business by increasing the
costs of supply. If the costs of supply exceed revenues, the
viability of an operator’s business will be doubtful.
Therefore, government ministries must understand the
factors