New report shows issues Carib’n needs to address in 2023

A section of Tortola. (BVI News photo)

A new report published by a United Nations body has highlighted major issues plaguing the Caribbean and Latin America, and has called for governments to plan with these issues in mind to ensure economic growth in 2023.

The report is the 2022 edition of Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean.It was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) 

The report says the economies of the region are characterized by slow growth and low levels of investment and productivity. It further says these factors make many economies of the region too weak to drive sustained, sustainable and inclusive growth. 

At the same time, the region continues to be plagued by structural development gaps — inequality, poverty, informality, and weak social protection, health and education systems, among other factors. The report says these factors are increasingly limiting the economic and social potential of Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The report also touched on climate change, saying the region is already highly vulnerable to the existential threat posed by climate change. 

“Active fiscal policy will be needed to confront these challenges, in order to create the conditions to boost growth and investment, guarantee social welfare and build resilience to climate change. However, given the intensive investment required to realize this agenda, it is crucial to implement measures to strengthen the fiscal capacity of the State and to

incentivize private sector participation in development,” the report stated.

The report also called for governments of the region to strengthen revenue collection measures which have historically been insufficient to meet the demands of public spending. 

“Tax collection in the region is low compared with that of the countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and with that of other countries with a similar level of development,” the report said.

Recently during his budget presentation, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley pointed out that the BVI is set to experience some economic turbulence in the near future in line with global trends.

Dr Wheatley shared that the IMF’s World Economic Outlook published in October 2022 forecasts that global growth will slow from six per cent in 2021 to 3.2 per cent in 2022, and 2.7 per cent in 2023.

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