Reducing high public debts is key for countries seeking to restore fiscal capacity and resilience in the wake of recent … crises. But large debt reductions are rare. Jamaica stands out for reducing its debt from 144 percent of GDP to 72 percent … over the last decade, a record achieved by running large, persistent primary budget surpluses. Well-designed fiscal rules …

I study the allocation of human capital in an economy with production externalities, financial constraints and career …-financial sector. When direct subsidies to investment and scientific education are not feasible, giving a preferred tax treatment to …

and monetary union (EMU), as well as on some key problems of Stage Three that EMU's monetary and fiscal structures appear … ill-prepared to handle. The transitional hazards are of considerable theoretical as well as policy interest: the best way … consider the past and prospective fiscal adjustments of the EMU 11, and suggest these might pose future difficulties for …

This paper presents and applies an integrated framework to assess the consistency between fiscal deficits and other … rate for which no fiscal adjustment would be necessary. The financeable deficit is defined as the deficit that does not … and output growth. The model can assess the impact on the relation between fiscal adjustment and sustainable inflation …

Fiscal indiscipline is a feature of many developed countries. It is generally accepted that the source of the … that taxpayers must assume. As a result, democratically elected governments are led to postpone tax collection, or to cut … spending. Solving the fiscal discipline problem requires internalizing this externality. This calls for adequate institutions …

We report the labor market effects of the Jamaica Early Childhood Stimulation intervention at age 31. The study is a … neighborhoods of Kingston, Jamaica. Implemented in 1987-1989, treatment consisted of a two-year home-based intervention designed to … original sample is 127 stunted children between 9 and 24 months old. Our study is able to track and interview 75% of the …

oil price shocks. We study two Caribbean economies highly vulnerable to oil price shocks, an oil-importer (Jamaica) and an …

for explaining differences in their subsequent economic development. Barbados and Jamaica provide a striking counter … 1960 to 2002, Barbados' GDP per capita grew roughly three times as fast as Jamaica's. Consequently, the income gap between … Barbados and Jamaica is now almost five times larger than at the time of independence. Since their property rights and legal …

wealth Jamaica was the most unequal place in the pre-modern world. Furthermore, all of these characteristics applied to the …

their children in ways that would develop their children's cognitive and personality skills. We re-interviewed the study …