Exploring options for region after economic crisis

The IMF is among three institutions that will be looking at the options open to the region after the global financial crisis.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, – The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the University of the West Indies (UWI), and the Central Bank of Barbados are jointly organizing a conference for the New Year to discuss issues related to Caribbean regional economic growth, debt, and their associated policy challenges.
The Conference entitled ‘Options for the Caribbean After the Global Financial Crisis’ is scheduled for January 27-28.
“We want to bring together academics, researchers, and policymakers to share their knowledge and experience on the most important economic and financial issues on the Caribbean,” said Alfred Schipke, chief of the Caribbean Division of the IMF, which oversees six countries in the region.
“The aim is to help the Caribbean countries seize the opportunities and meet the challenges of high and sustained growth as the global economy recovers from the Great Recession.”

Dr Andrew Downes, director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies of the UWI campus in Barbados and a member of the IMF’s Regional Advisory Group for the Western Hemisphere, said the conference will be an excellent opportunity to broaden the discussion and for the academic community to influence the formulation of IMF programmes.
In addition to the technical presentations, the conference will feature a Town Hall Meeting on the evening before the conference at which the “Ask the IMF” programme will be launched.
That programme will give tertiary students in the Caribbean an opportunity to give their perspectives on key economic issues and policy measures, engaging senior IMF officials in the process.