Author: Ayoki Tulloch
Mentor: Shruti Sharma
Institution: BMCC
Abstract: The diverse history of the Caribbean is an interesting one. Rich histories of cultures, traditions, politics and even economies. Born in the early independence of what was promised to be a “new Jamaica”; I have seen firsthand just how intricate these histories inform present day.
This project explores whether interventions by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the World Bank (WB) have had a positive impact on Jamaica’s economy. It starts with analyzing the state of Jamaica’s economy since independence and its participation in the Structural Adjustment Programs of the IMF. The programs mandated various trade liberalization policies. Important economic indicators such as Jamaica’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) its exports and imports, and net official assistance received have been analyzed. Data for these variables was obtained from the World Development Indicators- a database from the World Bank. Data was available for the years 1990 to 2018. My analysis of the data reveals that there has been no significant improvement in Jamaica’s trade balance since its participation in the program. Further, the growth rate of real GDP actually fell from 1990 to 2010, and was in fact negative for 2010, indicating that real GDP fell for that period. Analysis of the official debt assistance also shows that while such assistance declined from 1990 to 2000, it increased subsequently, and that Jamaica continues to be dependent on such debt.
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