ECONOMIC-REFORMS IN JAMAICA

This paper briefly discusses the economic reforms that have taken plac e in Jamaica for the past 15 years and argues that the reforms, at lea st so far, are mixed, particularly with regard to the elimination of p overty. The basic problems are (1) a Slow response of exports to large , frequent adjustments in the exchange rate, which prohibits low-wage labor, in the informal sector, from being absorbed into the formal sec tor; and (2) the large budget deficit, with the associated demands for large cuts in expenditures, which primarily affects the rural poor. I t is suggested that the principal reason that reforms have been slow i s because of the political price to be paid for unpopular measures in a competitive democracy