Brian Wynter: The International Monetary Fund's regional economic
outlook
Opening remarks by Mr Brian Wynter, Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, at the launch of the
International Monetary Fund's regional economic outlook, Kingston, 20 October 2010.
* * *
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the Bank of Jamaica.
We are especially glad to have our colleagues and partners from the International Monetary
Fund - both resident, Dr Gene Leon, and itinerant, Mr Gilbert Terrier (Senior Advisor in the
Western Hemisphere Department of the IMF) - and our fellow Caribbean central banker,
Dr Shelton Nichols, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. I know
that none of you are strangers to Jamaica, personally or professionally, and I hope that you
will find this visit pleasant and fulfilling. I am also happy to recognise the Jamaican members
of the panel who will speak later: the Financial Secretary, Dr Wesley Hughes, Mr Keith
Collister, member of the Economic Policy Committee of the Private Sector Organisation of
Jamaica and Dr Damien King, Head of the Department of Economics at the University of the
West Indies Mona Campus.
Many of you in the audience are accustomed to gather in this forum for a discussion of the
quarterly developments in the Jamaican economy and the role of the Bank in the way
forward. There will be some of that today but the point of view will be more panoramic and
will cover the whole region, including Central and South America. Sufficient account will be
taken of the Jamaican situation to enable us to appreciate the context and the parallels
across the region.
For most of the last two years, policymakers around the world have focused their attention on
attenuating the impact of the fallout in the global economy; repairing the damage to financial
infrastructure; supporting those sectors and persons that were hit hardest; and stimulating
recovery as fast and as far as possible. The review of the outcomes in different countries will
no doubt reveal that those with flexible or growing links to the new poles of growth fared
much better than those without such links. Here in Jamaica, we did not experience the
collapse of financial firms as many others did owing mainly to the reform and recapitalization
of the sector that took place over the previous decade. Neither did we undergo the sharp
declines in housing and other asset prices that others did. Jamaica, however, found itself in a
position where it faced the prospect of a slow, uncertain path to economic recovery not only
because of its own inertia and uncompetitiveness but also because its fortunes were tied to
the pace of recovery in the most severely affected economies. Moreover, with the economy
already hamstrung by a legacy of vast and growing public debt, there was little room for local
fiscal stimulus.
Adopting a longer view of growth and development, the authorities took the opportunity of
using the support on offer from the multilaterals to formulate and implement a broad slate of
reforms. At the end of the process, the programme promises an even stronger financial
architecture, a clear path towards fiscal and debt sustainability and, importantly, the
entrenchment of macroeconomic stability as a basis for more investment and steady growth.
Since February 2010, we have embarked resolutely on the reform path and have made good
progress to date.
The International Monetary Fund, which has played a key role in global surveillance and
advice, has a unique and privileged view of cross-country developments. It is not very often,
however, that we have the opportunity to have senior officials from that institution discuss the
issues and solutions that are specific to our region and for them to receive feedback on those
views from practitioners across the region. Discussions at events such as the Annual
Meetings of the Fund and the World Bank need to satisfy the needs of a large number of
constituents. They therefore tend to be either too "global" in their plenary discussions or too
fragmented in their selection of issues related to the Caribbean for there to be meaningful
regional perspectives. We therefore welcome this initiative to present the Regional Economic
Outlook right here in Jamaica and the Bank of Jamaica is happy to be the appointed place
for what will follow over the next two hours or so.
So, again, let me welcome you to this presentation of the Regional Economic Outlook by the
IMF and the discussion to follow. We look forward to your active participation. Thank you.