Briefing Papers

The value of the lottery scam in Jamaica is estimated to be as much as US$300 million in one year. As a small developing state with a strong ICT infrastructure, Jamaica has been a haven for international investors seeking to cash in.

Over the last decade, scrap metal theft has emerged as an epidemic across the globe. This paper draws lessons from the international scrap metal experience to inform the Jamaican context and makes policy recommendations for the effective regulation of the industry.

Development assistance, specifically targeting renewables in developing countries, exceeded US $2 billion in 2008; such investment has been possible due to the existence of an enabling policy framework for renewables in the host country. This brief outlines the policy regimes available to Caribbean policy makers wishing to usher in a new energy era, by designing enabling policies which will allow them to tap into funding earmarked for renewable energy.

Given the scarcity of fiscal revenue in the country, the resources needed to improve the education system will have to be generated, not through new cash, but through re-allocation. This brief examines the current tertiary funding model and presents funding alternatives.