UWI economic work relevant

The work done by the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), remains relevant today. This was the consensus from participants at UWI’s Vice-Chancellor Forum in Jamaica on January 23. “The search for competitive advantages for our economic sectors in this innovation age can only be achieved within this alignment,” said Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles. Sir Hilary said, “Lewis articulated the need 40 years ago for a development plan for the Caribbean region that promotes economic democracy as well as political democracy so that the right to vote for example, and the ability to start a business are equally accessible.” However he said what has been seen is, “moderate economic growth, increasing poverty, and deepening inequality, all of which are now subverting the political democracies we have achieved.”

Sir Hilary noted the region had entered “the post-IMF era” and now must now deal with models to find and finance new, and competitive sectors based on research, especially in areas like culture, sport, digital communication, extreme tourism, and money management.

Professor Mark Figueroa, Economist and Honorary Research Fellow at The UWI Museum and Archives at the Mona Campus, said, “In his diagnosis of the Caribbean, Lewis identified a failure to transform effectively in response to global changes hence many people remain engaged in low (or no) employment and due to the failure of social systems in particular, a failure of leadership.”