The University of the West Indies, Mona last Wednesday, August 26, 2009, launched a series of breakfast seminars with the theme Economic Challenges and Opportunities for the Nation (ECON). The series is being hosted by the Office of the Principal and the Department of Economics, as a means of facilitating constructive engagement with a broad cross-section of Jamaican society to address issues of fundamental economic importance to the nation.

 The series will address the macroeconomic, sectoral, institutional and other related constraints facing the Jamaican economy, and suggest policies which target sustained growth over the short to medium term.  Presenters will include academics, other specialists in fiscal policy and local/regional policymakers. The target audience includes government policymakers, private sector representatives, regional and international institutions as well as the general public.

According to Mona Principal, Professor Gordon Shirley, although the series is being launched at a time of particular concerns about fiscal and debt sustainability and negotiation of a borrowing agreement with the IMF, the planning of the forum predated and transcends the current economic circumstance. “Indeed, it is recognized that the current economic challenges have had an extended period of gestation, and that beyond the immediate issues of stabilization and resource insufficiency, the medium to long term vision for the country is dependent on fundamental change to sustain economic growth,” he said.

Last Wednesday’s seminar addressed the topic “Economic Stagnation and Prospects for Progress”. Presenters noted that current economic challenges pre-date, but have been exacerbated by the current international economic crisis. They emphasised the importance of taking stock of where the country is, how it got there and identified broad direction towards progress. Specific topics discussed were the structural constraints to growth, the impact of the financial crisis and pathways to progress.

The next seminar in the series is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9th when discussion will centre on “Public Sector Revenue and Expenditure Policy”. Topics to be discussed include tax reform, tax administration, tax policy and budgeting and expenditure management.

On Wednesday September 23rd the topic will be “The Debt Problem and IMF Engagement”. Panellists will examine the debt constraint on fiscal policy and economic growth, the role if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Jamaica’s adjustment and financing as well as Alternatives to the IMF.

The final seminar in the series will be held on Wednesday, October 7th 2009.