Clarkenomics Jamaica

CLARKENOMICS: THE ECONOMICPHILOSOPHY OF DR. NIGEL CLARKE!

So, you want to be Finance Minister of an Island economy: 3 minute post-graduate seminar on “Clarkenomics”.

The Principles of Clarkenomics in Jamaica

By Professor Gilbert Morris

Nassau, NP, The Bahamas

Let’s get context: 3 principles of Clarke’s economic management:

1. Macro-economic stability

2. System buffers

3. Targeted intervention

Before these there is a mandate: Clarke’s tenure as Jamaica’s finance minister is proof for the rule “never accept responsibility without authority”.  Keith Duncan led a Jamaica private sector/civil society group, which together insisted on structural/system reforms.  In 2018 they got Clarke elected to carryout those reforms.  This social contract gave Clarke the freedom to fight the economic situation without infighting; it allowed him to choose his team and implement his programme.

Macro-economic stability (MES):

Discuss with your colleagues which metaphor aligns here: is MES terrain, the track or the train?  It was a non-negotiable foundation of Clarke’s approach.  No party favours, no partisan gifts, no patronage for political lackeys.

Buffers:

Buffers are usually thought of as “policy cushions”, softening impacts where policy is delivered.  But Clarke’s approach escapes textbook assumptions by enacting two-way buffers:

1. Buffers where the policy impacts citizens

2. But also buffers where the policy is protected from external impacts

This point is critical for smallislandstates, because we control nothing and our best laid plans may be waylaid by external forces.  Buffers meant the MES programme was flexible and could be nursed through situations; without excuses.

Targeted interventions:

Where there are anomalies (regressions etc.), one can target solutions/corrections/offsets to keep the whole of society engaged. Clarke’s 2019 Budget - finest in history of Caribbean - was a study in these interventions (tax relief, tuition reduction in exchange for charity volunteerism etc.), generating shared commitment to social well-being, whilst maintaining disciplined economic management.

One of the cardinal tenants of Clarkenomics is “trickle up”:  Dr. Clarke turn the age old text book presumption of “trickle down economics” on its head.  He strategised to ensure that people at the bottom felt the benefits first; hence the tax cuts for low wage earners, assistance for students and small businesses.  Clarke resolved that if we want robust markets, customers must have money in their pockets.  He succeeded in that masterfully!

Clarkenomcs resulted in:

1. Reductions in actual debt/reflected in debt to GDP from 144% to 72%

2. Fiscal Deficit reduced to negligible whilst growing economy over 3%; despite Covid!

3. Tax reductions fairly distributed

4. Small Business assistance

5. Half billion in PPPs for infrastructure development

6. Reform of corporate and land registry

7. Thousands of new homes and reduction of unemployment

8. New ICT architecture

9. Best performing stock exchange in the world for 6 years running

10. Upshot in Jamaican Reputational Capital

Clarke didn’t start this movement - Hon. Peter Phillips initiated social partnerships - he maximised it skillfully and with a new disciplined focus. Numerical targets, dates and transparent reporting ensured accountability.

If you want to be finance minister you can’t simply copy Clarkenomics. But the principles are a good place to start!

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Why do Latin America and the Caribbean have low learning levels?

If learning were a disease, we would be talking about a global pandemic

 

Understanding The Learning Crisis: Where Are Students with Learning Gaps Located?

By Mercedes Mateo

iadb Blog

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) published the results of PISA 2022 in December last year.  Those results showed a global crisis in learning.

What happened in Latin America and the Caribbean?  We saw that three out of four 15-year-old students lack basic skills in mathematics, and almost half do not understand what they read.

We partnered with the World Bank to publish the report Learning Can’t Wait: Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean from PISA 2022.  We sought to better understand the reasons behind this learning crisis in the region.

And, just as with child mortality, we know where and why.

Where? 

Also, in low—and middle-income countries, on average, 15-year-old students in the region lag five years behind the average student in OECD countries.  If we compare Latin American and Caribbean countries with those above the OECD average, the gap is 12 years of learning compared to Singapore, which leads the PISA rankings.

We not only know where the learning crisis is located and in which countries these learning challenges exist, but we also know who the lagging students are within countries.

There is an enormous inequality in learning by socioeconomic status: 88% of low-income students underperform in mathematics, compared to 55% of the wealthiest students.  That’s a difference of more than 30 percentage points between the two groups.

Why do Latin America and the Caribbean have low learning levels? 

We not only know where, but we know why: 

1. First, we are not investing enough in education.  Our countries invest, on average, three times less in education than OECD countries. 
2. There is also a relationship between investment and learning.  With the current level of investment, we could improve learning outcomes.  Therefore, there is room for efficiency.  The countries in the region are below the trend line, which means they could achieve better learning results for every dollar they invest. 
3. Third, there is a distribution problem and an equity issue. The teacher is the main input an education system has to achieve learning.  And what we see is that this main input is unequally distributed.  The highest-quality teachers are systematically in schools where the highest-income students attend.

Three keys to overcome the education crisis: solutions that work

Just as in the case of child mortality, we know where; we understand why. And we also know the solutions that work.

 

1. Measure more and better.  Measuring learning means knowing where we stand and providing a sense of purpose and direction.  It indicates where we want to be in the coming years. 

2. Investing more.  Countries in the region need to invest more. 

3. Investing better.  Investing better means generating efficiencies and spending better on the one hand.  On the other hand, it means investing in programs that we know are effective and can improve learning. 

Examples of solutions that work to enhance learning

• Early literacy programs.  We know, for instance, that if we offer good literacy programs to young children from an early age, we can improve their reading skills by 30%.  “Let’s All Learn to Read” is one such solution. 
• Intercultural bilingual education.  We also know that when we culturally contextualize the learning of mathematics, indigenous children develop 50% stronger math skills. 
• Remote tutoring.  We also know that when we provide personalized support to the most vulnerable, lagging students through highly cost-effective remote tutoring, we can accelerate their learning by 30%. 
• School feeding programs.  We also know that offering school meals to students increases their participation in school.  We see a 9% improvement in school attendance. 
• Education management and information systems.  Finally, having management and information systems is crucial.  They not only help us generate efficiencies but are also essential to ensure equity.  This data allows us to distribute resources more equitably in education systems to compensate for student differences.  

We know the magnitude of the problem.  We have studied it in depth.  We know where the problem lies and why we are facing this challenge.  And we also know the effective solutions.  We have done it before; we can do it again.  The main challenge is how to transform the region’s education systems at scale.  Because learning can’t wait, these generations of children and youth cannot wait.

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