Positive Growth

• According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) countries of Latin America and the Caribbean face a complex economic and social environment in 2022. Weak economic growth is accompanied by strong inflationary pressures, slow job creation, falling investment and growing social demands.
• This situation has created major challenges in terms of macroeconomic policy, with a need to reconcile policies that promote economic recovery with policies to rein in inflation and make public finances sustainable.
• According to the Agency’s recent report, the economy of the Caribbean region is expected to grow overall by 10.2%, due to the whopping 52% growth expected in the Guyana economy. The Barbados economy is also projected to grow by about 5.9% this year owing to the continued recovery in its tourism sector.
• Meanwhile, Latin America and the Caribbean together are projected to have an average growth of 2.7%, returning to the path of low growth it was following before the COVID-19 pandemic. This, ECLAC said, was in keeping with the slowdown seen in the first half of 2022, after growth of 6.5% in 2021.
• In the Latin America and Caribbean region, the value of exports is expected to rise by 22% this year, and the value of imports by 23%, as domestic demand continues to grow.
• Notably, in the Caribbean, total revenues are expected to increase again in 2022, driven mainly by rises in tax revenues and revenues from other sources, such as non-tax revenues, capital revenues and external grants.

(Source: Barbados Today)