Are we measuring Ja’s economy wrong?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Kevin Walmsley is an American businessman who lives and works in China. He has a YouTube channel where he uses statistics gleaned from various sources such as research papers published in reputable journals and official government publications to discuss topical economic news on the Chinese economy. In one of his more interesting videos he posited the question: Are we measuring China’s GDP wrong?

Figures published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica estimate that Jamaica’s economy grew at around a very anaemic one per cent last fiscal year. The Government has drastically improved our debt situation with the debt to GDP ratio below 70 per cent. Currently we have a historically record low unemployment rate below four per cent, a poverty rate down from 16.7 per cent in 2021 to around eight per cent currently, a current account surplus of 3.3 per cent of GDP in 2024 and a primary surplus of around five per cent last fiscal year and expectation of robust tax revenue intake as indicated by the increase in the size of the budget tabled in parliament this year.

The statistics outlined above are obviously correct because the government is currently undertaking massive investments in public infrastructure such as roads and water distribution, salaries of public sector workers have been significantly increased, spending on social programmes has been increased and we continue to pay down the debt. All this is being done with no increased borrowing or budget deficits. How is this all this possible with such low economic growth?

My question is, are we measuring Jamaica’s economy wrong?

ALWYN GREGORY