 Dr.
Wesley George Hughes is Director General and Chairman of the
Board of Directors of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ),
an arm of the Ministry of Finance and Planning. He has overall
responsibility for the leadership of the Institute and for
guiding economic and social policies, plans and programmes
to sustain growth and development in Jamaica.
Prior to being appointed Director General at the PIOJ in
1995, Dr. Hughes completed two years of service as Deputy
Governor with responsibility for the Research & Economic
Programming Division, at the Bank of Jamaica. It was in 1977
that his long-standing relationship with the PIOJ began, when
he joined the then National Planning Agency (NPA) as an Economist.
In 1981, he left the NPA to be Director of the Economic and
Research Division of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute. After
completing his doctorate in 1989, he returned to the PIOJ,
serving another four years as Manager for the Five-Year Plan
Project (1989-1990), and Director for the Institute’s
Macro-Economics Planning Division (1990-1993).
Dr. Hughes serves as an integral member of the Economic Team
of the Minister of Finance and Planning; and in his capacity
as Head of the PIOJ, he is the Chief Economic Adviser to the
Government.
As the longest serving Director General in the history of
the 50-year-old institution, Dr. Hughes ensures that the PIOJ
maintains an effective operational relationship at both the
national and organisational levels. In this regard, Dr. Hughes
interfaces with the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and
Planning and other Cabinet Ministers, International Development
Partners, the Private Sector and other non-state actors.
Over his 10-year tenure, some of his major accomplishments
have included the cementing of the credibility of the Institute
– nationally, regionally and internationally - by ensuring
the provision of timely and accurate socio-economic data;
overseeing the on-going modernisation of the systems and processes
of the PIOJ; and the introduction of the groundbreaking annual
Lecture Series, Dialogue for Development, which he launched
in 2002. In addition, he ensures the PIOJ’s input in
the development of key policies and programmes of the government
in all areas of the economy and society, and often leads in
the negotiations for the external funding for projects. A
major goal of Dr. Hughes is to develop the capability of the
PIOJ to focus on long term planning and foresighting. This
is to complement the PIOJ’s strong capacity to deal
with short term crises and medium term problems.
Dr. Hughes is an internationally respected economist and
strategic development planner, and is a sought after guest
speaker with a strong academic base in the subject of economics
and development acquired from many years of under-graduate
and post-graduate studies.
He has conducted extensive research, with his works appearing
in major publications such as the Jamaica Bauxite Journal,
Journal of Geological Society of Jamaica, Caribbean Finance
and Management, and Development Dialogue, Uppsala, Sweden.
He is also Editor in Chief of the PIOJ’s three flagship
publications, the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica (ESSJ),
the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC), and the Economic
Update and Outlook (EU&O), and is currently overseeing
a planned publication on the history of the PIOJ, in celebration
of that institution’s 50th anniversary, and as one of
the oldest planning agencies in the developing world.
Dr. Hughes serves on a number of boards and committees: Chairman
of the PIOJ Board; Director on the Board of the Development
Bank of Jamaica (DBJ); Chairman of the Board of the Jamaica
Social Investment Fund; Jamaica’s Alternate Governor
for the following Boards: World Bank, Inter-American Development
Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, and the International Finance
Corporation. He is Jamaica’s representative and former
President of the Regional Policy Dialogue, Inter American
Development Bank. He also holds membership in several professional
organisations including the Economic Research Council, UK;
American Economic Association; the Association of Caribbean
Economists and the World Futurist Society.
Dr. Hughes was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica. He is a graduate
of Calabar High School, Kingston. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons.)
and MSc. from the University of the West Indies (UWI), and
a PhD from the University of Sussex, UK. He is both a recognised
Commonwealth Scholar and Aluminium Company of Canada Scholar.
He continues to maintain ties with the UWI, where he served
as part-time lecturer in economics.
He is an Anglican; the father of three children; and is married
to Carol. In his spare time, Dr. Hughes enjoys reading widely
particularly in the areas of international affairs and philosophy.
He plays chess and squash and pays keen attention to cricket.
He is a member of the Liguanea Club, Kingston.
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