Trinidad's Central Bank Governor on the Impact of Global Events on Caribbean Economies
http://www.caribbeanpressreleases.com/articles/3596/1/Trinidads-Central-Bank-Governor-on-the-Impact-of-Global-Events-on-Caribbean-Economies/Page1.html
S Coward
By S Coward
Published on 04-Jul-08
July 4, 2008 : Economists and policymakers are facing similar challenges as we realize that, in the current global environment, the traditional analyses no longer fit as well as before and the traditional policy prescriptions don’t seem to work as well as they once did.
Tourism arrivals continue to be strong
July 4, 2008 -- Thanks for inviting me to participate in this very timely
discussion focusing on the growing complexity of the economic and
business environment and the implications for the economies in the
Caribbean.
I often hear accountants refer to the challenges posed by the new
benchmarks in their profession, like the IFRS, for example. These
challenges have forced them to continue upgrading your skills and, to
be constantly in search of ways of adapting these standards to our local
situation.
Economists and policymakers are facing similar challenges as we
realize that, in the current global environment, the traditional analyses
no longer fit as well as before and the traditional policy prescriptions
don't seem to work as well as they once did.
Several months ago the IMF called the financial turmoil in
international markets one of the largest financial shocks
experienced since the Second World War and they forecasted that
the crisis would reverberate globally. Almost nine months later,
however, there has been little or almost no contagion to regional
financial markets; regional economies have not been seriously affected
by any financing constraint and regional economic growth remains
relatively robust.
A few years ago if I told you that the price of oil would rise to
US$140 per barrel without dire worldwide economic consequences you
would have thought me mad. Yet, the global economy saw the price of
a barrel of oil rise from just under US$25 at the start of this decade to
almost US$100 as at the end of 2007 (Chart 1) and in this same
period developing countries registered the highest growth rates in
decades. Growth in Latin America for instance averaged 6 per cent in
the period 2002 – 2006, the highest for any five year period since the
1970s; in the same period growth in the Caribbean averaged around 5
per cent, an equally impressive economic performance, by historical
standards (Chart 2).
An Economic Review for the first quarter published by the Central Bank of Barbados suggests that notwithstanding the rapid increase in international oil prices and the US slowdown, tourism arrivals have continued to be strong (in fact 10 per cent up from last year). Other countries in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, report similar trends.
Download full document below.
discussion focusing on the growing complexity of the economic and
business environment and the implications for the economies in the
Caribbean.
I often hear accountants refer to the challenges posed by the new
benchmarks in their profession, like the IFRS, for example. These
challenges have forced them to continue upgrading your skills and, to
be constantly in search of ways of adapting these standards to our local
situation.
Economists and policymakers are facing similar challenges as we
realize that, in the current global environment, the traditional analyses
no longer fit as well as before and the traditional policy prescriptions
don't seem to work as well as they once did.
Several months ago the IMF called the financial turmoil in
international markets one of the largest financial shocks
experienced since the Second World War and they forecasted that
the crisis would reverberate globally. Almost nine months later,
however, there has been little or almost no contagion to regional
financial markets; regional economies have not been seriously affected
by any financing constraint and regional economic growth remains
relatively robust.
A few years ago if I told you that the price of oil would rise to
US$140 per barrel without dire worldwide economic consequences you
would have thought me mad. Yet, the global economy saw the price of
a barrel of oil rise from just under US$25 at the start of this decade to
almost US$100 as at the end of 2007 (Chart 1) and in this same
period developing countries registered the highest growth rates in
decades. Growth in Latin America for instance averaged 6 per cent in
the period 2002 – 2006, the highest for any five year period since the
1970s; in the same period growth in the Caribbean averaged around 5
per cent, an equally impressive economic performance, by historical
standards (Chart 2).
An Economic Review for the first quarter published by the Central Bank of Barbados suggests that notwithstanding the rapid increase in international oil prices and the US slowdown, tourism arrivals have continued to be strong (in fact 10 per cent up from last year). Other countries in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, report similar trends.
Download full document below.