Western Hemisphere > Belize

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International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issue paper documents the recent episode of food inflation and food insecurity in Belize. The paper also overviews what policies were announced in Belize and the Caribbean during the recent cost-of-living crisis; and discusses the policies Belize could implement to protect its most vulnerable households from the threat of food insecurity going forward. It discusses the appropriate policies to protect vulnerable households from food price inflation going forward based on economic theory and best practices and estimates how much it would cost the government of Belize to protect the vulnerable population against a rise in food prices like the one in 2022. The authorities should evaluate the impact of the recent policy that regulates mark-ups on essential goods by wholesale and retail operators when they have sufficient data. The limits on the mark-up for 32 essential goods were introduced to limit the increase in food prices and avoid monopolistic practices.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issues paper studies inflation dynamics in Belize with the goal of quantifying the role of external and domestic factors in the recent inflationary episode and projecting inflation going forward. The paper applies a Principal Component Analysis to inflation data of several countries and finds that global factors have contributed substantially to both the historical variation and the recent surge in Belize’s inflation. Global factors explain most of the recent surge in inflation in Belize and are projected to reduce inflation going forward. An estimated Phillips curve also finds that external factors, proxied by food and fuel prices and US inflation, have been a key driver in the surge in Belize’s inflation during the last two years. The estimation results show that external factors have significant effects on Belize’s inflation.
Ms. Magda E. Kandil
The paper investigates asymmetry in the allocation of aggregate demand shocks between real output growth and price inflation over the business cycle in a sample of fifteen Caribbean countries. In most countries, the evidence indicates the existence of structural constraints, implying that positive demand shocks feed predominantly into prices while negative demand shocks mainly affect output. The high variability of aggregate demand in Caribbean countries, frequently exposed to shocks that are exacerbated by pro-cyclical policy stance, tends to create an upward bias on inflation and a downward bias on real output growth, on average, over time. The analysis highlights the benefits of eliminating structural rigidities responsible for asymmetric real and inflationary effects and points to the dangers of procyclical macroeconomic policies that exacerbate the adverse effects of demand variability.
International Monetary Fund
This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Belizean economy grew by 4½ percent in 2004, mainly reflecting strong performance in the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors. Inflation remained subdued at about 3 percent. The overall fiscal deficit of the central government, however, widened to 8¾ percent of GDP in FY04/05. Executive Directors have underscored the urgency of addressing these imbalances to safeguard the country’s international reserves and ensure the sustainability of the pegged exchange rate system.
International Monetary Fund. Secretary's Department

Abstract

The speeches made by officials attending the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings are published in this volume, along with the press communiqués issued by the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee at the conclusion of the meetings.