delisle worrell : competing in the global market of research welcome remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the central bank of barbados 35th annual review seminar, hastings, christ church, 27 july 2015. * * * the central bank of barbados can be proud of its research achievements over the forty plus years of its existence. we have a rich trove of economic data and analysis that we have accumulated over those years, most of which is available for download from the internet, from our own website among others. thanks to this research we understand better how our economy works, and how the economy has evolved over time. understanding the economy is the key to the formulation of good economic policy, and for public involvement in the execution of the economic strategy. this is a vitally important activity, because our economy does not behave in the same way as the us or uk economies, or the economy of any large country whose currency is widely used around the globe. our economic policies do not work well if they are modelled on those of large industrialised countries, countries that provided the context for the development of the economic models and policies that comprise the conventional policy suite reflected in the reports of the imf, world bank and other international institutions. we are by no means alone among developing and emerging market economies in recognising that the conventional policy dictate does not improve the condition of our economies. however, we are among the very few that have an alternative diagnosis and prescription for curing our economic ailments. the key to our diagnosis is the explicit recognition that size matters for economic adjustment and growth. small countries do not have the possibilities that large countries have of producing at home to substitute for imported goods to any meaningful extent, nor can they diversify their exports beyond a narrow compass. the reason is obvious to anyone who lives in a very small country : with limited resources and skills the country must of necessity concentrate on getting production of a limited range of products and services up to international standards of competitiveness. precisely because they are small producers in a global market, only those products and services that are competitive internationally will survive. except for purely domestic production such as construction and personal care, anything that is not internationally competitive will be driven from the market, either through formal channels, or – if prohibitive barriers to international trade are erected – via informal markets. the reality of a limited range of production of anything that can be traded, in comparison with the very

wide range of consumption items, production inputs and capital goods that a modern economy needs, defines what we describe in economic terms as a “ hard ” foreign exchange constraint. in practical terms it means that you cannot grow the economy if you do not have an additional source of foreign exchange, and you will not secure additional foreign exchange by lowering your selling price – for example by devaluation. it means that a central tenet of the conventional wisdom, which recommends a combination of fiscal expansion and an exchange rate depreciation, will not result in growth of output. ( remember that we are talking about small producers selling on a global market, where they can sell everything they can produce at the ruling price. ) instead, devaluation causes imported inflation, and depresses real income and output. note that this analysis does not depend on the country ’ s level of development, or the sophistication of its financial markets. it is as valid for malta, iceland and bermuda as it is for barbados and trinidad and tobago. whenever international institutions admit to evidence that conventional policies are not working, they typically seek the cause in the development of the country ’ s financial system. their argument is that underdevelopment of the financial bis central bankers ’ speeches system is the reason that monetary and exchange policies have little traction. but financial underdevelopment is the wrong suspect ; the fault lies with small size. since small size is not “ curable ”, foreign - exchange - constrained economies must find an alternative policy mix which works around these constraints. barbados ’ economic policy explicitly recognises the foreign exchange constraint. in this we are unique. this country ’ s adjustment programme since 2013 offers a textbook demonstration of an effective framework for managing the foreign exchange - constrained economy in the face of adverse circumstances. because foreign exchange is crucial, economic policy makers check the balance of inflows and outflows every day, so that any pressure on foreign exchange may be detected immediately. in may of 2013 we noticed a persistent decline in foreign exchange reserves, and we understood that total spending in the economy would have to be cut, to reduce the demand for imports in line with the available foreign inflows. the tool used to adjust spending was fiscal tightening. the first budget adjustment, in august 2013, proved insufficient ; the reserves continued to fall. but the december measures did the trick, by bringing the fiscal deficit down from 12 percent to under 7 percent, and the country ’ s foreign reserves have since reverted to