Author/Editor:

International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.

Publication Date:

December 21, 2017

Electronic Access:

Free Full Text (PDF file size is 2105 KB).Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

Summary:

With the international airport’s entry in operations, the government has completed a key step of its strategy to spur still lackluster growth and tackle persistently high unemployment. The authorities’ remaining challenge is to foster a strong investment response from better international connectivity and ensure that its benefits are widespread across the population. Growth remains low and stayover tourism has slowed down, mainly due to setbacks in available tourism infrastructure. Fiscal space needs to be created to provide for the additional costs of operating and marketing the international airport until it can generate sufficient own revenue, and boost resilience to natural disasters. Meanwhile, the authorities need to articulate their medium-term fiscal strategy to reduce public debt to the ECCU regional target of 60 percent of GDP by 2030, in a context of recurrent natural disasters.

Series:

Country Report No. 17/400