in barbados can take a valuable lesson from this. it would not be easy to estimate the labour – income ratio for the entire industry in barbados ( as data may not easily be available ). what i can suggest is for each firm to do its own analysis. one is assuming here that the average manufacturer operates with factors of production consisting of labour ( including management ) and physical capital. a company may estimate value added in its operations by netting out purchases of inputs from other firms from total sales. after that if it is a simple issue of estimating the proportion of income that goes to pay wages, including the cost of absenteeism and fringe benefits. each firm may then be able to roughly determine where it stands with respect to the labour – income ratio yardstick. in conclusion, one could say that prospects for the traditional manufacturing products are weak. only certain niches could survive and the industry needs to create more niches. one can note that the jamaican jerk food industry has caught the imagination of north america and europe to such an extent that jerk meat products are gradually becoming standard fare in many restaurants in these areas. it is even difficult to obtain some of the leading jerk products in jamaica because of the high demand by foreigners. the barbados manufacturing sector should be ready to diversify product lines and markets, including export markets. some of the larger firms have already tightened their operations, shed labour and re - visited investment plans. there are indications that finance is not a major constraint. the central bank ’ s own financing schemes are under - utilized. nevertheless, available evidence points to about 30 % delinquency rate among small and medium - sized companies which access funds to finance their operations. in order to ensure uninterrupted availability of finance, it may be necessary to provide basic accounting skills to companies in the sector so as to keep the proportion of companies which are unable to service their debts to the minimum.

risks. this allows us to continue to profit today from the lowest medium and long - term market interest rates for fifty years. it ’ s a remarkable contribution to growth and job creation, thanks to our credibility in delivering price stability. p. m. by anticipating a resurgence of inflation in the medium term, don ’ t you, as jean - claude juncker fears, run the risk of triggering a round of wage rises that would work counter to your desire to fight inflation? j. - c. t. no, not at all. by being credible in our task of safeguarding price stability, we protect the purchasing power of europe ’ s citizens and therefore move in the direction that everyone desires. p. m. so, you would say that everything is “ under control ”? j. - c. t. we will do at all times what is necessary. p. m. if you are so certain that the ecb is safeguarding purchasing power, growth and employment, why are these three areas doing so poorly throughout most of the euro area? j. - c. t. the ecb does well to satisfy one of the necessary conditions for growth and employment. but this does not suffice in itself. monetary policy cannot do all on its own! there are many other factors that contribute to growth, in particular, economic reforms, budgetary policies and also, very importantly, the confidence of households and entrepreneurs. for our part, we do everything possible to give people this confidence by safeguarding their purchasing power, giving them a sound currency and, in the case of companies, by bringing them historically low medium and long - term market interest rates. p. m. what you are saying is that the ecb is doing its job, but others are not. j. - c. t. we are not singling out anyone. the european and global situation is very complex, and there are huge challenges to be overcome. p. m. but growth hasn't materialised. why is that? j. - c. t. there is consensus in europe, and certainly the ecb, the european commission and all of the governments agree that the implementation of the structural reforms which form part of the well - known lisbon programme would lead to higher levels of growth and create more jobs. p. m. is it the case that there are good and bad students within europe? j. - c. t. within the euro area, we have some shining examples of success