A CARTAC National Accounts technical assistance mission to St Kitts and Nevis, re-referenced the volume estimates of quarterly GDP for the years 2012–2022 using 2018 as the base and reference year from the previous 2006 base year. The series were developed for both Saint Kitts and for Nevis and a combined series for the Federal aggregate. The re-referencing exercise provided an opportunity to introduce some other improvements. Notably, the calculation of Final Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured (FISIM) consumed by each economic sector businesses and its allocation to economic activities. The updated series were also prepared using the International Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activity (ISIC) revision 4 . These improvements align the updated GDP series with the standards set out in the 2008 System of National Accounts. In addition, the current price estimates of GDP by expenditure were also reviewed.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses unravelling Panama’s large unemployment fluctuations. Panama’s labor force and employment have increased remarkably over the last decades. The rapid labor force growth was driven by a combination of demographic and social transformations. The increase in the labor force participation rate was the result of rising female labor force participation. Panama’s income convergence in the 25 years preceding the Pandemic was in large part the result of an increase in the employment to population rate. Convergence can either result from an increase in the employment rate relative to that in the US, or from faster labor productivity growth. In the case of Panama, about three quarters of the reduction in the income differential with the US was driven by an increase in the employment to population rate, and only one quarter was the result of faster labor productivity growth. Going forward, the increase in the employment to population ratio is likely to be slower and, for income convergence to continue, productivity growth will need to accelerate. The demographic transition has largely run its course as population growth is projected to keep declining and the share of the working-age population is expected to decrease in the next decades.
A technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) was conducted to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Saint Lucia as part of the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) work program on ESS. The mission focused on addressing data compilation issues on trade in goods—especially on the import and re-export of fuel—and travel credits and assessed the revised 2022 balance of payments that was disseminated in December 2023.
This paper presents the technical assistance report on remote national accounts mission in St. Lucia. The improved estimates will improve the understanding of the Saint Lucia economy, notably the needs of the Ministry of Finance for more robust and timely national accounts statistics. This development will also help Saint Lucia meet the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standards requirements. Training has been provided on the different components of Gross Domestic Product by expenditure (GDP-E) for current price methods and price and volume measurement. The mission identified some research topics for the national accounts department as part of its development of GDP-E. This includes checking the quality of some indicators and identifying whether some sources are available at a lower level of detail. The mission also quality assured the current methods used for compiling accommodation in the production measure of GDP. In order to support progress toward the objectives, the mission recommended priority recommendations to make headway in improving Saint Lucia’s national accounts.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This technical assistance report on St. Kitts and Nevis highlights strengthening core business functions audit capacity (RTAT). In response to a request from the St. Kitts and Nevis Inland Revenue Division (IRD), Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre provided capacity development (CD) in strengthening audit capacity under the RTAT training program. The main objective of this CD was to strengthen capacity to audit and verify accuracy of reporting by taxpayers in the Financial Sector. The CD started with the provision of five days of training of IRD auditors where the purpose was to prepare the authorities to implement the necessary actions in adopting good practice in auditing the Financial Sector. The IRD will build on this training and CD when designing future audit program. Given the importance of Financial Sector in St. Kitts and Nevis, further support to ensure compliance in the sector would be beneficial. The IRD will need further assistance to strengthen the audit program of the Financial Sector and support to review of tax returns of the companies in that sector. As a first step the audit team should, develop a program of profile meetings to gather relevant information on the operations of various businesses in the sector.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This 2019 Article IV Consultation explains that St. Lucia’s near-term growth prospects are favorable, supported by large infrastructure investment and robust tourist inflows. However, longer-term growth continues to be impeded by high public debt, lingering vulnerabilities in the financial system, and structural impediments to private investment. Diminishing policy buffers further weaken the country’s resilience to external shocks against the backdrop of aprecarious global outlook. Completion of long pending legislative initiatives, alongside stronger regional and domestic financial oversight, should provide banks with incentives to strengthen their balance sheets and increase the efficiency of financial intermediation. There is also a need to draw on supervisory and regulatory tools to respond to emerging risks from rising overseas investments of the banks and the rapid expansion of lending by credit unions. The authorities are recommended to should step up efforts to address the institutional, financing and capacity gaps in its climate and disaster response strategy. Supply-side reforms are needed to unlock potential growth by improving the business environment, reducing energy costs, enhancing labor productivity, and further diversifying the economy.
Mr. Maximilien Queyranne, Mr. Wendell Daal, and Ms. Katja Funke
To provide policymakers in the Caribbean with a governance framework for improving infrastructure through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), while limiting their fiscal costs and risks for the government. And to showcase Canada support to FAD technical assistance in the region and FAD collaboration with CARTAC and the Caribbean Development Bank
William Joseph Crandall, Elizabeth Gavin, and Mr. Andrew R Masters
This paper presents the results of the International Survey on Revenue Administration (ISORA) deployed during 2016 and covering fiscal years 2014 and 2015. It is made possible by the participation of 135 tax administrations from around the world that provided data.