Caribbean Development Trends

Caribbean economies have recovered from the pandemic-induced recession, but one legacy that lingers is public debt accumulation.  This was an inevitable consequence of the sharp economic decline and social needs created by the pandemic, and with the recovery, progress has been made in lowering the burden of public debt.  Yet, average debt levels remain elevated, and changing economic circumstances pose challenges and opportunities for managing sovereign debt.  The latest edition of the

To design effective policies that can improve the living conditions of households and individuals, it is crucial to keep track of the changing realities on the ground.Surveys are a powerful toolfor that. In the case of Suriname, the country faced several challenges in the past few years. The country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)per capita, which reached its peak in 2014, plunged sharply in 2016, triggering a series of economic hardships. To cope with the situation, Suriname adopted a tough macroeconomic stabilization program, while experiencing soaring inflation.

Suriname, the world’s most forested nation, boasts a diverse and rich ecosystem that includes vital mangrove forests along its coastline. Like a hidden magical realm, the magnificent mangrove ecosystems hold the secrets to a thriving world beneath the waves.

The support of the Pandemic Fund

The Caribbean is characterized by small populations with highly interconnected countries and porous borders. When you add the tropical climate to these factors, the region becomes particularly vulnerable to the risk of disease outbreaks due to their rapid spread. This was evident during the spread of COVID-19: its transmission to all Caribbean islands in a short period of time made the vulnerability of the entire region to the proliferation of contagious infections even clearer.

Despite recent improvements, the Caribbean region is still grappling with headwinds affecting social dynamics, fiscal outcomes, and economic growth. Global commodity prices—particularly for food and energy—remain volatile and above pre-pandemic levels, straining household budgets. While true that tourism dependent economies have seen this crucial sector recover, and commodity exporting governments have benefited from elevated prices, many citizens—particularly the most vulnerable— remain under strain.

Background

At the intersection between the pinnacle of technological advancement and intelligence, society has achieved remarkable feats, like self-driving cars and manned lunar missions. However, we are perennially challenged by the Herculean task of avoiding traffic congestion in major cities, towns and transport corridors across the Caribbean including getting a person from San Fernando to Port of Spain.

With the onset of the pandemic, the world stopped. A previously unknown threat made us drastically change our way of living. This is the first entry in a series of blogposts about the structural changes that the pandemic brought to the tourism sector in the Caribbean.

Technology related to artificial intelligence (AI) has been developing quickly, impacting many industries, including business process outsourcing (BPO). Although AI has great potential to change the BPO industry, its advantages and disadvantages must be better understood. Let’s begin by examining how AI is positioned to transform this sector and where human expertise will continue to be crucial over the coming years.

Please join us on a small adventure where the only thing you need to pack is your imagination…

Imagine the tropical Amazonian rainforest of Suriname with dense canopies of vegetation and through the dense forest flows a beautiful river called the Suriname River. Across the rapids and through one of the many sandy banks of this river you will find the entrance to the village of Kapasikele. In Kapasikele, like many other villages in Suriname’s interior, it is a rare sight to encounter a young man, as if the Pied Piper took all of them away.

In the vibrant and culturally diverse region of the Caribbean, there is an essential element that fuels the dreams and aspirations of its people. It is the lifeblood that powers their play, dance, and imagination. However, the Caribbean faces numerous energy challenges, with hurricanes and earthquakes often leaving communities without electricity. Moreover, the heavy reliance on expensive oil imports poses a significant burden on the region.