IDB Report: Caribbean Economies Made Notable Progress in Debt Reduction and Fiscal Sustainability

Caribbean Economics Quarterly highlights public finance, and tax reforms drive faster, more resilient, and sustainable long-term growth.  

WASHINGTON — Caribbean economies have achieved notable fiscal consolidation and debt reduction despite the persistence of high global interest rates and volatile energy markets, according to a new Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report.  

The new edition of the Caribbean Economics Quarterly (CEQ), titled “Fiscal Resilience, Debt Reduction and Domestic Resource Mobilization in the Caribbean,” examines the fiscal and debt trajectories of six member countries of the IDB’s Caribbean Country Department: The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. It finds that half of these countries have successfully reduced their debt-to-GDP ratios below pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating the effectiveness of disciplined fiscal management and credible institutional frameworks.  

However, the CEQ warns that the regional fiscal environment remains challenged due to tighter global financial conditions rather than a deterioration in investor perceptions of the Caribbean. 

“Caribbean nations have navigated an extraordinarily complex series of global shocks in the recent decade with impressive policy discipline,” said Anton Edmunds, IDB General Manager for the Caribbean.  

“The data shows that substantial debt reduction is possible when governments maintain credible fiscal frameworks. Moving forward, the priority must be building more productive, fair, and resilient revenue systems that can finance both debt reduction and critical investments, including in disaster risk management,” he added 

A central finding of the report is that the region collects less revenue than it needs for sustainable development and disaster resilience. Tax revenues in the Caribbean averaged 21 percent of GDP in 2023, below the Latin American average of 22 percent and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 34 percent.  

The CEQ highlights several cross-country reform priorities to address this gap, including modernizing tax administration through digital technologies, rationalizing tax incentives and exemptions, and strengthening stable revenue sources such as property taxation. For oil and gas producers, the report stresses the importance of strong fiscal rules and sovereign wealth funds to smooth revenue volatility and preserve wealth for future generations. 

The full Caribbean Economics Quarterly report is available for reading on the IDB website. 

The Caribbean Economics Quarterly publication series is a trusted resource for policymakers, academia, and businesses. Previous editions are available here.