Economic Survey of the Caribbean 2011-2012: positive growth amidst lingering downside risks

Abstract

The current survey provides an overview of the economic performance for 2011 and the outlook for 2012 of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), namely Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and Montserrat. The introduction summarizes the economic performance of the Caribbean in 2011 and the growth outcomes for 2012. Section A examines the current global economic difficulties and the challenges posed for the Caribbean economies. Section B examines growth performance of the subregion. Section C examines fiscal policy and the public debt, while section D examines monetary policy including issues of inflation and domestic credit. Section E examines the balance of payments and the external sector while section F examines the economic performance for 2012 and provides some recommendations in light of current economic challenges. The next section presents country briefs for the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, together with a group assessment of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Annex 1 describes the policies implemented to cope with ongoing global challenges while Annex 2 provides a statistical appendix.