SUNDAY 4TH OCTOBER, 2015 – UWI TODAY
5
Quo t i ng f r om S i r
Arthur Lewis,
Professor
Karl Theodore believes
that “good economics
begins with a concern
for the conditions under
wh i ch peop l e l i ve”.
For him, economics is
meant to serve society
by examining factors
that affect the welfare
or quality of life of the
population - issues of efficiency, effectiveness and
equity.
This concern for people, and the conditions under
which they live, inspired his interest in and passion
for many developmental initiatives in the region,
particularly as it relates to health, and public and
fiscal policy. He saw the reality in the region as one of
“fiscal sensitivity”. Simply put, when the government
experiences hard times, the system suffers. In his
opinion, addressing hard times does not necessarily
mean more funds but, rather, finding innovative ways
of maximizing resource efficiency and effectiveness. It
is about “creating a culture of efficiency.”
This drive to create a culture of efficiency is evident
by various technical collaborations with organizations
such as the World Health Organization and the Pan
HONOURS
A Culture of Efficiency
American Health Organization on issues of health
financing, social security systems, and costing and
financing of health services, in his capacity as the
Director of the Centre for Health Economics at The
UWI. His work focused on finding new ways to align
health system objectives with government priorities,
particularly with respect to health financing in the
Caribbean. Professor Theodore recognized that
one of the main issues affecting the performance of
healthcare systems in the region is the ever-increasing
cost of healthcare and the sustainability of health
financing. “The calibre of health systems”, he said,
“are being severely threatened by the universality
requirement embodied in the drive toUniversal Health
Coverage as well as by the response to the Chronic
Non-Communicable Diseases”. There is a need for
health reform. That is, a purposeful and fundamental
cultural change, that effectively links sustainability
and efficiency with an appropriate financing mix and
policy formulation.
Professor Theodore believes that there is a need
for political will and more technical work to clarify
mechanisms by which reforms can be implemented.
He emphasized that, while there are policies which
work against the achievement of efficiency and equity,
we need to make a conscious decision that in our
region these will not be part of the landscape.
Roxanne Brizan-St.Martin is an Instructor in the Department of Economics
“good economics begins with
a concern for the conditions
under which people live”
~ PROFESSOR KARL THEODORE
Findings from quality research by academic staff, research students and other collaborators are
presented on economic and social policy impacts. This year, the conference honours former Head of Department and
Current Director of the Centre for Health Economics,
Professor Emeritus Karl Theodore
, and will explore the theme
Managing Development
in Caribbean Economies: The Key Role of Health, Public Policy and Social Security
, consistent with Professor Theodore’s research output.
Roxanne Brizan-St.Martin
talks about
Professor Theodore
and his drive to create a culture of efficiency in our Caribbean economies.
Honouring Karl Theodore
The Association of CommonwealthUniversities
recentlyannounced thewinnersof this year’sTitular
Fellowships and one of The UWI’s professors is a
recipient. The University of Manitoba Fellowship
has been granted to Professor Derek Chadee,
head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences
at the St. Augustine Campus to establish the first
Caribbean-Canadian research agenda on fear
of crime rates. His research will also look at the
disconnection between official crime statistics and
unreported crime rates.
The awards cover various academic disciplines,
from information technology to food science, and
will see Fellows visit prestigious institutions across
the Commonwealth between October 2015 and
September 2016.
Professor Chadee spoke on this subject at his
Professorial Inaugural Lecture held on March
26, 2015 at The UWI, St. Augustine campus. A
summary of his lecture can be found here:
http://
sta.uwi.edu/uwiToday/archive/may_2015/
article7.asp
His research will also look at the disconnection between
official crime statistics and unreported crime rates.
FELLOWSHIP FOR PROFESSOR DEREK CHADEE
Professor Derek Chadee
