Event

The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social & Economic Studies (SALISES) presents a PhD Thesis Proposal Seminar by Mrs. Janette Cupid-St. Hilaire, PhD Candidate on the topic, The Efficacy of Monetary Policy in the CARICOM Region.

This event takes place at 9am. 

ABSTRACT

Monetary policy has been touted as one of the panaceas for the regulation of economies - be they developed, emerging or developing. With the establishment of Central Banks in the CARICOM region, beginning in the 1960s, successive governments have introduced monetary policy as one of the main strategies in achieving economic stabilization, one of the paramount objectives being price stability.

This thesis is an attempt, firstly, to evaluate the effectiveness of the monetary policies employed in the CARICOM region, particularly in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), over the period 1962-2015.  Secondly, it entails a review of non-traditional monetary policy techniques, such as price level targeting, exchange rate targeting, monetary targeting and targeting of nominal GDP, with a view to determining whether there are lessons to be learnt by CARICOM economies.  Finally, it explores whether there is a case for inflation targeting in addressing the problem of inflation in these economies.

Keywords: monetary policy, CARICOM region, price stability, non-traditional monetary policy techniques, inflation targeting