World Bank: Jamaican Crime Reduction Could Mean 5 percent Increase in Growth

If Jamaica can reduce its crime rate to the level of Costa Rica, it could see a 5.4 percent increase in gross domestic product, according to the World Bank’s World Development Report for 2011. “Indirect costs — associated with stress and trauma, time off work due to violent incidents, and lower productivity from injury or mental illness — far overshadow direct costs,” the report said. Costa Rica has a murder rate of 11 per 100,000 persons; Jamaica has a rate of 55 per 100,000 persons and a population of 2.7 million.