Lending Institutions, Health Care, and Human Capital in Jamaica
Overview
Jamaica is the second poorest country in the Caribbean, ranked only above Haiti, according to the 2014 World’s Development report. A once rich agricultural country, Jamaica’s strongest surviving industry sectors are bauxite/alumina exports, energy, and tourism.
With a per capita GDP growth of just one percent per year, Jamaica is now one of the slowest growing developing countries in the world.
Although Jamaica is considered an “upper middle class” economy, monthly incomes average $1,241 USD, but can be as low as $138.72 USD; 17% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Jamaican Lending Institutions
Jamaica was hit hard in 1997 by an economic crisis perpetuated by a collapsing real-estate market and poor supervision of banks and insurance companies. It was rocked again in 2008 by global economic shocks triggered by a global financial crisis. It also struggled with a lack of parity and fair market pricing for its agricultural exports.
However, Jamaica proved resilient and the government began an ambitious search for national and international financial support.
Jamaica acquired funding through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which currently provides a support package of US$932 million. World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provide US$510 million each toward reducing Jamaica’s debt. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) invest in private sector development.
Although economic growth is still slow, the Jamaican government forecasted real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.9 percent for 2016, and Jamaica jumped 27 places in the 2015 ‘Doing Business’ ranking to spot #58 among 189 countries ranked. In 2014-2015, Jamaica raised more than US$2 billion in international capital.
In 2009, Jamaica also created a robust micro-finance program which attracts capital investment from domestic and foreign sources.
Jamaican Health Care
Good health boosts labor productivity, educational achievement and income, and is therefore a cornerstone of development in struggling economies. But according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), most poor and developing countries do not have sufficient domestic financing to cover the costs of comprehensive health care and should seek outside financing and support.
Health care in Jamaica is free to all citizens and legal residentsat government hospitals and clinics, including prescription drugs.Private health care and private insurance is also available.
Unfortunately, health care is one area in which Jamaica is still way behind. Citizens and visitors alike report long lines for health care, a lack of appointments, and long waits for critical care.Patients must bring all their own medical supplies—recipients of government care must have their relatives go to outside pharmacies to buy necessary drugs and antibiotics before they are administered. Private practice doctors often have to bring their own supplies and even tools and equipment to public facilities.
Due to the largely rural nature of the country, many citizens must walk or travel long distances on dusty roads to reach public hospitals and clinics, only to wait all day to be seen, and then sent home without medical treatment. Jamaican hospitals have been referred to as “death traps” and numerous articles online warn travelers about the dangers of poor health care in Jamaica.
Jamaica is currently working towards what it calls Millennium Development Goals, which include reducing child mortality, reducing maternal mortality, and increasing measles immunizations. Jamaica’s maternal mortality rate in 2015 was more than six times the target figure set by MDG. However, part of the goal stipulates that 100 percent of births must be attended by a skilled health professional, and this figure has been at 98 per cent, for several years. Jamaica is also still struggling with HIV prevalence higher than it was in the 1990’s.
In 2010, both medical workers and teachers went on strike because they were not receiving wages commensurate with the agreements they had signed. The government’s 2011 budget did not include retroactive wages and back wages owed, creating even deeper divisions in the health and education sectors.
Human Capital in Jamaica
Skilled health workers and teachers continue to emigrate from Jamaica due to a lack of government support and financing for those sectors.
The country continues to struggle with high levels of crime and high unemployment, particularly among youth. Although Jamaica’s poverty rate has dropped almost 20 percent over two decades, in recent years it has increasedagain by eight percent. As of 2015, the unemployment rate in Jamaica was about 13.2%, with youth unemployment more than twice that. As of April 2017, unemployment dropped to 12.2 percent, but 26.2 percent of young adults between 20- 24 years of age were unemployed.
In Jamaica, 80% of children are born out of wedlock, and the likelihood of having married parents is just 50 percent. A study from Virginia Tech found that Jamaican children whose mothers are unmarried have lower cognitive achievement than children with married mothers, and that children with unmarried mothers are also less likely to attend high school.
In a 2015 keynote address, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller emphasized that the government plans to continue pursuing development of human capital in Jamaica. “Investments by the Government of Jamaica in education, training and innovation have been growing as a direct result of this policy emphasis. These are areas that have also been receiving sustained attention by companies keen on attaining or maintaining profitability and market leadership and honoring their corporate social responsibility.”
Despite Jamaica’s progress in promoting growth, lending and investment, faster economic growth is needed to eliminate poverty and boost shared prosperity.
References
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Johnston, J. and Montecino, J. (2011). Jamaica: Macroeconomic Policy, Debt and the IMF. [ebook] Center for Economic and Policy Research, pp.17-18. Available at: [Accessed 3 Mar. 2018].
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