Developing Sustainable Balance of Payments in Small Countries

Andre Haughton is Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona in Jamaica. He earned his PhD from the University of Essex in the UK. He is a KPMG Peat Marwick Scholar, a Thomas De La Rue Scholar, and a British Commonwealth Scholar. He is a member of the Private Sector of Jamaica's Economic Policy Committee and the Inter-American Development Bank's Civil Society Consulting Group.

This book analyses Jamaica's ability to satisfy its short and long run foreign currency obligations in light of recurrent balance of payment support from international lending agencies. Jamaica is one of the top five indebted nations in the world, and despite entering 13 successive arrangements with the International Monetary Fund over the past 40 years, its depreciating currency continues to drive up debt servicing requirements. The island nation's longstanding relationship with multilateral lending agencies like the IMF serves as a case study for other developing countries that are unable to generate sufficient intrinsic net international reserves and, consequently, suffer from incredibly low GDP growth per annum. The book closes with policy recommendations to bolster the Jamaican economy into solvency so that it can create a sustainable foreign debt repayment plan, and suggests strategies for supporting local economic objectives within global geopolitical constraints. 

Provides a case study applicable to small economies with insufficient net international reserves

1. Foreign Currency Flows and the Jamaican Economy.- 2. Foreign Currency Borrowing and Foreign Debt Sustainability.- 3. Determinants of Current Account Imbalances.- 4. Current Account Subgroups and Real Exchange Rate Dynamics.- 5. Currency Depreciation and Economic Growth.- 6. Balance of Payments and Capital Account Sustainability.- 7. Net International Reserve Adequacy and the Optimal Reserves- 8. Foreign Direct Investment, Savings, Investment, and GDP Growth.- 9. Commercial Banks and the Monetary Transmission Mechanism.- 10. Concluding Remarks and Policy Recommendations.