IDB: Latin America and Caribbean on Right Path, but Not Immune to Turbulence

By: - December 29th, 2011

Above: IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno in Haiti (Photo: Catianne Tijerina)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Latin America and the Caribbean are closing a year marked by economic gains, but the region is not immune to external shocks, according to a year-end report by Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno.

Although the region performed well this year, largely due to the strength of Latin American countries like Brazil, it is susceptible to risks like the European financial crisis, the U.S. fiscal deficit or a potential deceleration of the Chinese economy.

“Although we have reasons to feel good about what we have done, I want to emphasize that the task is not complete,” he said. “The risks are there and we still have a long to-do list for the region to strengthen its achievements and keep moving forward.”

Moreno said increasing productivity was one of the region’s strongest imperatives, hindered by poor education quality, insufficient spending on scientific research and technological development and an infrastructure backlog.

Haiti

A New Dawn for Haiti Tourism?

Above: Cayes-Jacmel (Photo: HTO) By Maura R. O’Connor CJ Contributor When Dominican business entrepreneur Frank Ranieri wanted to get involved in tourism in the 1970s, he crossed the border into Haiti to see how it was done. “[Haiti’s tourism] was bigger than in the Dominican Republic,” Ranieri says. Today, the tourism empire he built in […]

Haiti

Regional Outlook: Preparing for the Worst, Hoping for the Best

By Hasan Tuluy Op-Ed Contributor Latin America and the Caribbean began 2011 on an economic high. After swiftly bouncing back from the 2008/2009 global crisis, the region grew at a record level in 2010 with some countries reaching East Asian rates of 8 to 10 percent— so fast in fact that early this year economists […]

Haiti

Caribbean GDP to Grow 1.7 Percent in 2012: UN Report

By the Caribbean Journal staff The Caribbean’s economy is projected to grow 1.7 percent in 2012, following an estimated 0.7 percent growth in 2011, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. That number is far short of a projected 3.7 percent GDP growth rate for Latin America […]

Grenada to Host UN Climate Workshop

By the Caribbean Journal staff Grenada will host a United Nations environmental workshop next year, Environment Minister Joseph Gilbert announced. Grenada will be the first country in the western hemisphere to host such a meeting. “This workshop, which will be funded by the United Nations Environment Programme, will put Grenada on the map,” Gilbert said […]

Jamaican Loses Privy Council Appeal of Murder Conviction

 By the Caribben Journal staff The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London has dismissed the appeal by Jamaican Samuel Robie of his conviction for the murder of Roy Bailey in 2003. Robie was appealing his conviction on three grounds — that the judge did not direct the jury that he was a man […]

United Nations Urges Investigations of Alleged Police Abuse in Haiti

By the Caribbean Journal staff Grenada will host a United Nations environmental workshop next year, Environment Minister Joseph Gilbert announced. Grenada will be the first country in the western hemisphere to host such a meeting. “This workshop, which will be funded by the United Nations Environment Programme, will put Grenada on the map,” Gilbert said […]

Durandis: Haiti's Climate of Opinion

 By Ilio Durandis CJ Contributor Reading Milton Friedman’s book, Free to Choose, the concept of a “climate of opinion” as a tool to help shape policies could be just what the doctor ordered for the upcoming year for Haiti. Friedman argued that in the case of the United States and some European countries, the climate […]

SUBSCRIBE!

Sign up for Caribbean Journal's free newsletter for a daily dose of beaches, hotels, rum and the best Caribbean travel information on the net.


No. Thank You