Footprints in the Sand: The Jamaican Economic Policymaking Experience 2016–2024

After nearly fifty years of starts, stops, reversals, and sacrifices, Jamaica has arrived at the shores of economic stability. Given the country’s dire position only a decade ago, few would have believed this possible. Yet since then, Jamaica has reduced the national debt by a dramatic three-fourths of GDP, logged a record number of consecutive quarters of economic growth, reduced unemployment to historic lows, accumulated record levels of foreign exchange reserves, and become a model of fiscal prudence for other nations. What kinds of policies are responsible for this transformation? How can future leaders help ensure that the gains of this newfound stability do not wash away, sabotaging the nation’s progress towards economic independence and greater well-being for more Jamaicans?Capturing the story of Jamaica’s economic pitfalls and progress across the years of his combined public service (2016–2024), Nigel Clarke, outgoing Minister of Finance and the Public Service, who was previously Ambassador of Economic Affairs, brings deep pragmatism, optimism, and love of country to bear upon these questions. Openly sharing the thought processes and principles that drove macroeconomic policymaking during his tenure – one that included a devastating global pandemic and a Category 5 hurricane – Clarke advocates for the continuation of policies that form the guardrails of stability and illustrates the importance of maintaining buffers against future shocks. Covering a wide range of topics, from inflation, debt, and international capital markets to disaster-risk financing, public-private partnerships, and strong institution building, Clarke presents with plain-spoken wisdom a pathway for approaching economic governance with intention, discipline, bipartisanship, and inspiration, leaving footprints in the sand for those who will write future chapters of Jamaica’s economic history.Nigel Clarke served as Minister of Finance and the Public Service and Ambassador of Economic Affairs in the Government of Jamaica for a combined period of eight and a half years between April 2016 and October 2024. He served as a Senator between 2013 and 2015 and he was twice elected to serve as a Member of Parliament between 2018 and 2024. In 2022, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation. Mr Clarke currently serves in the position of Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.He holds a D.Phil. in Numerical Analysis and an M.Sc. in Applied Statistics from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar and a Commonwealth Scholar. He also holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from The University of the West Indies where he was a Jamaica Independence Scholar. Read more