The Economy

Fiscal sustainability was finally breached during the 2009 fiscal year when interest payments reached an unprecedented 66 percent of revenues. This crisis precipitated the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) in February 2010 which appears to have been well designed and executed.

The country faces significant gaps in its external and fiscal accounts. With limited credit options given the current international economic environment, economic restructuring is imperative to sustainable recovery. This paper shows recourse to the IMF offers a viable solution.

An assessment of the trading relationships between Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries and the economic potential to be derived from trade between the LAC region and other emerging economies.

As we approach the end of 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the global economy appears to be stabilizing. This brief weighs the options for the country’s next steps: reduction of public deficit or pursuit of a fiscal stimulus strategy.

Whenever the value of the Jamaican dollar depreciates there is public debate as to whether the country should change its currency regime to some form of fixed rate or dollarization. This study examines the exchange rate options for Jamaica.

Recent work emphasizes the primacy of differences in countries’ colonially-bequeathed property rights and legal systems for explaining differences in their subsequent economic development. Barbados and Jamaica provide a striking counter example to this long-run view of income determination

Social partnerships have emerged as a means for countries to cope with harsh economic circumstances. In this paper, we survey the experiences of other countries and conduct one-on-one consultations with Jamaican stakeholders to ascertain the prospects for successful social partnerships.

The services sector may serve as an important source of economic growth for the Caribbean, but only if the region moves beyond tourism to take advantage of emerging opportunities in other service areas.

Jamaica is one of the most indebted countries in the world. This paper explores the reasons for the indebtedness and analyses the impact of three policy initiatives on the future evolution of debt to provide fiscal policy guidelines.

Tens of thousands of Jamaicans are likely to have invested in informal investment schemes (IIS). The extent to which Jamaicans are likely to invest in IIS and the impact of these schemes on the economy is the focus of investigation in this study.