World Bank issues warning on growth

WASHINGTON, CMC – The World Bank has warned that growth in the Caribbean “will be held back” by large fiscal adjustments necessary to bring fiscal deficits to sustainable levels and help reduce public debt burdens. “Growth in the Caribbean continued to disappoint, decelerating to 3 percent in 2012 as growth decelerated in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti, while Jamaica’s economy fell into recession,” said the Washington-based financial institution in its “Global Economic Prospects, June 2013.” “Regional growth in the first quarter as approximated by industrial production softened, with industrial production remaining relatively flat, after a slight contraction in the fourth quarter,with growth decelerating to slightly below potential, the positive output gap nearly closed in 2012,” it continued.