United Nations Jamaica 76th Anniversary

The Jamaican Economy Panel (JEP) was established in 2021 as an innovative collaboration between the United Nations and The University of the West Indies (UWI) Department of Economics. JEP brings together experts from international institutions, academia, and the private sector to shed its light on a different topic every month. The panellists are invited to fill out a survey and to share their thoughts, which are then collated into a monthly publication. The topics attempt to align with current events and debates in the popular media or the publication of relevant new literature. For obvious reasons, much of the discussion has had to do with the different impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some key findings The field of economics is able to address a broad range of issue types: those relate to individual behaviour, public policy and questions about expected future developments. Looking at the first six reports shows that all these different elements have come back in one way or another. Individual behaviour was most clearly addressed in July, when the panellists were asked about vaccine hesitancy. While acknowledging that vaccine choice is important, they endorsed pursuing an information campaign focused on low-information households as having the greatest potential. Most of the issues addressed by the JEP have, nevertheless, addressed questions of public policy. For example, in May, the panellists were asked about debt policy and whether the goals for public debt, which have naturally been greatly impacted by the pandemic. In this case, the panellists concluded that, while the Government was balancing debt reduction and other spending priorities adequately, the goal of achieving a debt-to- GDP ratio of 60% by 2027/28 may be overly ambitious. In September, responding to the publication of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the panellists considered how carbon pricing could realistically be implemented in the Caribbean. The panellists agreed that the Caribbean could, and should, implement a carbon pricing regime, but drew attention to the importance of minimizing administrative costs and making sure that any associated price increases were compensated, especially for the poorest in society. Looking at future developments, the very first Discussion (April) asked panellists when they expected Jamaica to reach its pre-pandemic level of GDP per capita, with a consensus forming around 2024. In June, in response to the publication of the Sustainable Development Report for 2021, which showed that progress on the SDGs continues to lag, the panellists endorsed the importance of the SDGs, but highlighted that a people-focus would be key to achieve long-term sustainable development. What is next? The October Discussion explores the Green Recovery. Other topics can and will be addressed at the JEP. The collective wisdom of such a diverse group of experts is able to pinpoint the most relevant emerging trends and thus to provide a useful amount of relevant information. Possible topics include the challenge of obesity, the coming demographic crunch and what can be done to further stimulate the creative economy in Jamaica. JEP discussions bring to light some of the key tradeoffs on topical issues in public policy that need to be addressed to help bring a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery. Therese Turner-Jones IDB General Manager Country Caribbean Group and Jamaica Country Representative The inclusion of voices from the private sector add value to discussions of the types of public policy issues addressed in the JEP Discussions. Keith Collister, Financial analyst and Observer columnist Familiar Faces, New Partnerships UWI Dept of Economics and United Nations partnership brings together economic and public policy experts in The Jamaican Economy Panel The JEP is an interesting way of bringing together voices from different sectors: academia, private sector, international organizations and forms the basis of great partnership. Dr. Andre Haughton Senior Lecturer, UWI, Mona Dr. Nadine McLoud Head, (UWI) Department of Economics, JEP Co-founder Dr. Olaf J. de Groot Economist, UNRCO, JEP Co-founder 29 THE 76TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN JAMAICA