Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin 2020: Volume 9: Issue 4, December 2020
Date
Dec 2020
For most Caribbean countries, the COVID-19 pandemic will translate into the deepest single-year contraction of real GDP on record in 2020. With the exception of Guyana, countries have experienced deep recessions, severe increases in unemployment, and long-lasting damage to many corporate and household balance sheets. The social consequences of the crisis continue to mount, and despite governments best efforts to buffer the shock to families, enterprises, and domestic markets, there remains a dire need for continued and more broad-based stimulus to ensure that economic capital both human and other wise remains intact.
This edition of the Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin briefly reflects on notable economic developments in 2020, then shifts to longer-term issues, including a summary of an upcoming IDB publication, Economic Institutions for a Resilient Caribbean, as well as summaries of the book's key diagnostics and recommendations for each country. In some cases, country sections focus on specific areas of institutional reforms. For example, the Suriname section focuses on fiscal institutions, given the public debt distress there.
This edition of the Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin briefly reflects on notable economic developments in 2020, then shifts to longer-term issues, including a summary of an upcoming IDB publication, Economic Institutions for a Resilient Caribbean, as well as summaries of the book's key diagnostics and recommendations for each country. In some cases, country sections focus on specific areas of institutional reforms. For example, the Suriname section focuses on fiscal institutions, given the public debt distress there.
