Cox urges Jamaica to invest more in human capital

Suggesting that Jamaica's long-term economic advantage is likely to rest on the delivery on competitively priced high quality services, a top World Bank official has urged policymakers here to invest now in the development of human capital, even as they continue to attempt to squeeze growth out of the existing economy.

"In the medium term ... it's all about human capital," Pamela Cox, the World Bank's vice-president for Latin and the Caribbean said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.

"That's why we put so much focus on that in our own programme," she said.

The World Bank promised Jamaica US$300 million in loans to help finance an economic adjustment programme that has the imprimatur of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),

which is lending nearly US$1.3 billion under a 27-month standby agreement.

The Inter-American Development Bank is providing US$600 million to the programme.

The World Bank has already disbursed US$135.5 million under the programmed and another US$100 million is to be released by yearend, based on the current schedule.

Reviewing strategy

But Cox was in Kingston this week to review the overall strategy and possibility of allocating new resources, or adjusting flows and sequencing in the face of a storm that hit the island more than a month ago, leaving several billion dollars worth of damage.

While Cox said she was "encouraged" by the efforts to tackle Jamaica's deep economic problems - the country has a huge debt and a stagnant economy - she did not let on about what message she would take back from her two-day trip to Kingston.

She was, however, clear about the need for urgency in tapping the country's natural comparative advantages, one of which, she stressed, was human capital.

"The great advantage of [Jamaica's] human capital can be used to create jobs," Cox told the Financial Gleaner. "But we need to seize the moment."

In that regard, she suggested that Jamaica position itself to be a player in the market for services that require higher levels of education.

"I know that Jamaica creates highly educated nurses, accountants and many others," Cox said. "These are high-value jobs that earn a lot of money."

The opportunity, she suggested, rests on the fact that such services will be in demand in many countries, and that Jamaica will possibility be able to deliver them more cost-effectively than others.

She also suggested that Jamaica could leverage its educational facilities by offering training to foreign students.

"There is a huge, growing demand for higher education and you have wonderful facilities in Jamaica," she noted.

"The US essentially gets a lot of students to come to the US and pay a lot of money. You can probably charge less."

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com