Creator
The Independence of Jamaica and its Economic status in the World’s Economy
Jamaica celebrates Independence on August 6 each year, in commemoration of its first Independence Day on August 6, 1962.
The period leading up to the public holiday is crammed with parties and activities celebrating the island’s culture.
There are several key events and personalities that propelled, Jamaica, a former colony of the British Empire, heavy under the weight of slavery and other social injustices, towards independence.
The birth pains of our nation are sometimes drowned out by the excitement and vibrancy of our annual celebrations. But we must not forget any event or any of the lives that were dedicated to our great nation achieving sovereignty on that fateful day, August 6, 1962.
You can read the following link: Jamaican Independence: A Timeline for a artful synopsis of Jamaica’s trail to Independence.
The Economy of Jamaica
The economy of Jamaica experienced a dramatic upturn in the post-World War II period. According to the eighth census of Jamaica 1943, the modernization of the economy during this period significantly altered the stratification system of the post emancipation plantation society.
It created a modern urban sector within the traditional plantation economy and forged the growth of new social classes and a modified stratification system.
The growth of a manufacturing sector, accompanied by an expansion of the service and public sectors created the basis for a more diverse and fragmented class structure and opened up opportunities for social mobility within the urban societies.
I found out however that unfortunately the dualistic nature of this modernization meant however that the change was primarily concentrated in the urban areas and little effects were manifested in the rural areas.
During this time urban economic diversification also affected the middle class and because of the massive expansion in both the public and the private sector, increasing opportunities for white collar and professional occupational roles were created.
Based on my personal observation, there has and still remains a sharp contrast between the high prestige and high income professional class and the lower prestige and lower income class.
It has become clear to me that upward mobility between the two classes are based on a varying combination of education, influential networks of inter-personal contacts, skin color and the most under-rated but very significant role of “marriages”.
The essential distinction between these two classes is the considerable difference in levels of material affluence. However, the status difference between the white collar and the blue collar labor classes is based both on the traditional status bias against manual occupations which we all know is not unique to any Caribbean society.
The expansion of the commercial, manufacturing and service sectors of the urban economy of Jamaica has also allowed significant participation in business by groups such as the Chinese, Syrians, Jews, Browns and a few Blacks.
It is therefore my observation that from my research and analysis that material affluence and income are the main factors of social status in contemporary Jamaica, although race, education, training and class are also key variables that will also affect the economic life chances of the individual.
The Jamaican Constitution
The Jamaica Constitution 1962 is the most fundamental legal document in the country, guaranteeing the freedom, rights and privileges of every Jamaican citizen.
The Constitution reflects the country’s independence as a nation state and, to this day, remains the cornerstone of the island’s legal systems and institutions.
The Constitution took effect on August 6,1962 when Jamaica gained political independence from Britain, after more than 300 years of British colonial rule. For more fascinating information visit the following link:
https://jis.gov.jm/media/The-Jamaican-Constitution1962-E.pdf
Jamaica’s Emancipation
In Jamaica on August 1, 1838, thousands of ex-slaves who had gathered at town centres and churches in the British Caribbean territory broke into joyous celebrations after hearing the final words of the Emancipation Declaration, affirming their full freedom from slavery.
This momentous date represented the abolition of the dehumanizing system which had enslaved people of African descent in the British colony for over 150 years.
The Emancipation Act of 1838 was passed by the British Government following a sustained abolition campaign, underscored by bloody slave uprisings in the colonies as well as increased anti-slavery sentiment in the UK.
Country Formation and Succession
I recently learnt will reading the Cayman Financial Review, which has become one of my favorite magazines to read, that a country’s formation and succession depends on a large and complex mix of factors such as geography, history, ethnicity, ideology, politics and economics. Cool!
Mr. Orphe Divounguy, a Chief Economist, also stated in the same article that political separatism is linked to higher living standards.
Is Political Separatism (Independence perhaps) linked to higher living standards?
He also states that history largely agrees with this economic theory and that as the number of absolute monarchies and authoritarian regimes decrease, the number of nations increase, and democratization and economic freedom leads to the creation of countries that are positively linked to higher living standards.
He also further stated that empirical evidence from a panel of around 100 countries from 1960 to 1990 suggests that economic freedom improved living standards regardless of the countries size.
However, the relationship between political freedom and economic growth is more complex. Some political freedom is good for growth but too much can harm welfare. Apparently there exists a growth maximizing level of political freedom and once a moderate amount of democracy has been attained, further expansion can reduce living standards.
In contrast to the weak casual effect of democracy on living standards, there is a strong positive influence of the standard of living on a country’s propensity to experience democracy.
For more exciting financial news, I strongly suggest becoming an avid reader of the Cayman Financial Review: http://caymanianfinancialreview.cay.newsmemory.com/
The Economic Problems of Less-developed Economies
When doing my research and analysis, which by the way, I find absolutely orgasmic! I always like to be creative and fun, but factual. So here’s a story:
Imagine two infants born at the same time, Baby#1, in a clean and well-equipped delivery room of the maternity ward, Baby#2 on the cold-hard floor of a mud brick home.
Like all newborns, these are two beautiful human beings that God gave life, but tragically they each face very different futures.
Baby#1 will probably survive its early years and probably live to the ripe old age of 85 or more.
Baby#2 on the other hand, will have a much less chance of surviving to its first birthday and its life expectancy may be an average of 65 years.
Baby#1 can expect to receive all the important immunization shots and vitamins for assistance in growing healthy and strong and can also expect to attend a day-care center or kindergarten for educational development.
You see, Baby#1’s education is compulsory and because of this Baby#1 will also attend elementary and High School.
It is also a great possibility that Baby#1 will likely graduate from some awesome college or university with a degree that prepares Baby#1 for an intellectually and financially rewarding and productive life.
Baby#2 may learn how to read and write if given a chance, but the chances of Baby#2acquiring an advance degree are rather remote. This therefore leaves Baby#2 with the only option of joining the low-wages working class or getting married at a young age in order to survive.
What is most tragic about this story pf the two babies is that this story repeats itself over and over and over from generation to generation and the unfairness continues.
The World Economy- Confronting National Poverty
Being poor is certainly not a crime, but accepting poverty and allowing it to continue unchecked seems to be a crime not only against the population’s impoverished victims, but against those generations of impoverished yet to come.
You may ask who’s to blame. I strongly believe people whose standard of living are not much above physical subsistence, which means they have just enough food to stay alive, they do not choose to remain poor.
Unfortunately the world they inhabit affords them little choice. Therefore, is their national poverty inevitable? Is there nothing they can do?
The Language of National Poverty
According to my research, the language used by economists to describe these economies has changed over time. Economists have been studying different nations since the 1950’s.
During that period, economists were able to identify several countries and classed their national poverty as endemic, apparently the consequences of new developing countries or less-developed countries.
Economics that have yet to invest in basic energy, housing, education or transportation systems or that have yet to develop legal, financial, and communication systems to support modern ways of producing goods and services simply cannot compete in the same economic world as the industrial economics of the West.
However, sometimes labels can be misleading. Studies have shown that over the years these less-developed economies have indeed made considerable progress.
For example, in the past 25 years, Brazil, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel, Taiwan and Iran have made spectacular leaps in modernizing and developing their economies, achieving for their people substantially higher levels of per capita income. Yeah!!
Unfortunately however, many others haven’t. Some less-developed countries still seem to be stalled in a mode that keeps yielding, decade after decade, the same kinds of low-level income and the same employment opportunities and investment patterns that inhibit them from making even a modest transition to modernization.
Human Capital and Economic Well-being
Investments in human capital- in the form of education and health care were seen and I believe is still the most important of the capital goods contributing to national economic growth.
The problem is that although their payoffs are relatively high, they require considerable time to generate. Better health and education ultimately improves a person’s working efficiency, but the improvement occurs gradually and the gains in productivity resulting from it are spread over a person’s lifetime.
However, too often less-developed countries looking for a quick fix and visible investment payoffs are unmotivated to put their very limited resources in human capital development.
Political Instability
I believe it is very difficult and rather pointless for anyone to even try to plan their economic future if they thought their government could be overthrown overnight.
Laws become meaningless when governments are know to frequently displace each other and set aside or halt any previous projects or political mandates already in progress.
For example, projects started by one government is simply halted or ignored by the successive government. This results in great financial losses, multiple dilapidated buildings or ineffective programs, time wasted, frustrated politicians, annoyed contractors or community workers and angry, vulnerable voters who really don’t care who gets the job done, as long as it gets done.
How can such a system promote confidence in anyone’s economic future when such a system’s time frame and track record based on history shows inconsistencies?
I may be young, creative and beautiful, and some may even say naive, and yes there is still a lot I do not understand but I’m very intelligent and willing to understand.
I have made it my whole life’s work to observe, study, and analyze everything, everyone and all events which affect the environment where I have been placed.
