Ambitious economic policies

A leading economist is describing the economic policies outlined in the President’s Speech yesterday as ambitious.

However, Professor Justin Robinson believes the aggressive drive for growth is the right medicine for the Barbados economy, which he says needs to achieve supernormal growth this year.

Professor Robinson says like other tourism-dependent economies, Barbados experienced a major decline in GDP in 2020, estimated to be around 18 per cent.

But while service economies in the region showed signs of recovery in 2021, expanding by 3.2 per cent, Barbados lagged behind, growing by only 1.4 per cent.

Professor Robinson says the execution of government-driven projects and initiatives, and adequately facilitating private sector projects will be critical to achieving the necessary growth.

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