The Road to Sustained Growth in Jamaica

Jamaica's economic history is one of paradoxes, and potential - it has an English-speaking, and reasonably well-educated labor force, is close to the world's largest market, the United States, and, has an abundance of natural beauty, which has spurred tourism - and, many of its social, and governance indicators are strong, including near universal school enrollment. Poverty rates are below that of comparable countries. Yet, the Jamaican story is marked by the paradoxes of low growth in GDP and high employment, despite high investment, and important achievements in poverty reduction. This paper attempts to explain these paradoxes, and concludes that one possible explanation is that GDP has been understated. Amid these challenges, this report proposes that a "bandwagon" approach to reforms may be needed to improve prospects for sustained growth, with policy actions on several fronts, including measures to avert crisis, while continuing to strengthen social safety nets, as well as short- and long-term policies, such as reducing the growth of public expenditure, and tackling crime. Given that policy choices are likely to be difficult, it argues that an approach based on social dialogue, and consensus building is essential to create ownership for future reforms among all stakeholders.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2004-04
Subjects:	ECONOMIC GROWTH, POVERTY INCIDENCE, POVERTY ANALYSIS, POVERTY REDUCTION, GROWTH PATTERNS, REFORM POLICY, EDUCATION & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, STUDENT ENROLLMENT, MACROECONOMIC POLICY, EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL, SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS, INVESTMENT POLICY, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, REFORM IMPLEMENTATION, POLICY FRAMEWORK, SOCIAL SAFETY NETS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, CRIME DETERRENCE, SOCIAL DIALOGUES, CONSENSUS BUILDING, ACCOUNTABILITY, AGRICULTURE, ANNUAL GROWTH, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, BANKING CRISIS, BONDS, BUSINESS COMMUNITY, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, CAPITAL FORMATION, CAPITAL USE, CITIZEN, CLIMATE, COMPETITIVENESS, CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, CPI, CRIME, CRIME RATES, CRISES, CROWDING OUT, DATA COLLECTION, DEBT, DEVELOPMENT GOALS, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, DIRECT INVESTMENT, DISASTERS, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC HISTORY, ECONOMIC POLICY, ECONOMICS, EDUCATED WORKERS, EMPLOYMENT, EXCHANGE RATE, EXCHANGE RATES, EXPENDITURES, EXPORTS, FINANCIAL CRISIS, FINANCIAL SECTOR, FISH, FREE TRADE, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GOVERNANCE INDICATORS, GROWTH PERFORMANCE, GROWTH PROSPECTS, GROWTH RATES, HOUSING, HUMAN CAPITAL, IMPORTS, INCOME, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME SHARE, INFLATION, INSURANCE, INTEREST RATES, INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INVESTMENT RATES, LABOR FORCE, LABOR MARKET, LIVING CONDITIONS, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, LORENZ CURVE, MACROECONOMIC STABILITY, MIGRATION, NATIONAL ACCOUNTS, PARENTS, PARTNERSHIP, POLICY OPTIONS, POLICY REFORMS, POOR GROWTH, PRICE INCREASES, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCTIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SERVICE, QUALITY OF LIFE, RAPID GROWTH, REAL EXCHANGE RATE, REAL GDP, REAL WAGES, SAFETY, SAFETY NETS, SCHOOLS, SHORT-TERM IMPACT, SOCIAL COSTS, TAX BASE, TAX RATES, TAX REVENUES, TAXATION, TERTIARY EDUCATION, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE POLICY, TRANSPARENCY, UNEMPLOYMENT, URBAN AREAS, URBAN POVERTY, VALUE ADDED, VICTIMS, VIOLENCE, WAGES, WORKERS, WORKPLACE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, WTO, YOUTH,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/01/3772191/road-sustained-growth-jamaica https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15014
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