Poverty and inequality in Jamaica
published: Saturday | July 24, 2004

By Peter Jones, Contributor

Even more troubling is the persistence of income inequality, which is the worst of any developing region in the world. In the 1990s, there has been a modest narrowing in the gap between rich and poor. However, poverty has remained far above what would be expected given the regions per capita income.

Enrique V. Iglesias
President
Inter-American
Development Bank
April 1998

IN THE context of the youth uprisings in Spanish Town and the fact that a greater majority of crime in Jamaica is committed by persons in the 15-24 age group, there has been renewed focus on the country's youth. Over the last two to three weeks there have been several interviews with representatives from this group particularly on radio and television and many have been calling in on the talk-show programmes. These young people speak of unemployment, hopelessness and more seriously, a lack of knowledge about opportunities that may be out there for them.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

The United Nations Global Youth Report 2003 (Chapter 2, Pg. 8) issued on the April 27, 2004 singles out Jamaica's youth unemployment as the second highest in the world behind Namibia in South West Africa. There are government programmes available to alleviate these problems, but they are not being actively accessed. This speaks to a serious communication problem in terms of marketing by those offering these programmes.

Another issue not spoken to is a serious income inequality not only in Jamaica as experienced now but also in the entire Latin American and Caribbean region. Latin America and the Caribbean face a paradox. For too many people in the region, poverty amidst plenty remains a daily reality. While much of the region has registered important economic and social gains, poverty has become more persistent and more concentrated within pockets of society.

Today, at least 150 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are considered poor, and both the incidence and absolute level of poverty remain higher than they were in the 1980s. Therein lies the challenge.

In spite of modest improvements in the 1990s, income inequality remains the worst of any developing region in the world. The lowest fifth of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean received 4.5 per cent of national income, while the highest fifth received 55 per cent. Severe income inequality is underpinned by extreme inequality in the distribution of assets, notably land and human capital. As a result of this wide disparity between rich and poor, poverty has been far above what would be expected given the region's per capita income. A cornerstone for reducing poverty over time is sustained economic growth, yet growth alone is not enough.

Efforts are required to help the poor earn their way out of poverty and improve their quality of life. Steps must be taken to increase the participation of the poor, not only in specific projects, but also in the public policy-making process.

Taken together, these efforts form the foundation for a successful poverty reducing strategy. Over the past decades, much progress has been made in reducing poverty in Jamaica and in the wider Latin American and Caribbean region; yet much more remains to be done.

Two things are clear. First, reducing poverty requires multiple efforts across a range of sectors and activities. As such, it involves a variety of participants, institutions, and tools, none of which can work in isolation as effectively as they would together.

LASTING SOLUTIONS

Second, the state of knowledge about poverty and the impact of the poverty-reducing strategies are incomplete (the discovery of 81 zinc fence communities in Spanish Town and the effects of such conditions drives this point home succinctly). To achieve lasting solutions, a greater effort is needed to document the extent and nature of poverty. At the same time, the impact of poverty policies is not fully understood. Thus, in some cases, the success of some programmes still must be proven. Nonetheless, experience and analysis indicate that successful programmes require adequate information, targeting those most affected, effective community participation, and appropriate decentralisation.

Peter Jones, executive director of The Economic Development Institute, a non-profit Jamaican Economic Development consultancy, may be contacted at liontraders@yahoo.com