KINGSTON, Jamaica – International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative in Jamaica Dr Bert Van Selm on Tuesday downplayed a view that the island should adopt the developed world approach of pumping money to stimulate the economy.
“We are in a different situation here in Jamaica than in the advanced economies,” stated Van Selm in response to a query following his presentation at the seminar ‘Unlocking Investment Opportunities in Jamaica’ put on by financial conglomerate Sagicor group at the Jamaica Conference centre in Kingston.
His presentation focused on the island achieving 2.0 per cent growth in 2015 and 2.5 per cent growth over the medium-term spurred on in part by private investment. However, a question from the floor asked why the absence of monetary policy geared at stimulating the Jamaican economy is beset with reduced consumption and IMF-sanctioned currency depreciation.
He explained that “quantitative easing or bringing more money into the economy” was used as a sort of “last resort” when a central bank had already reduced its interest rates to nearly zero and still remained worried about deflation.
