## Jamaica: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Jamaica

_IMF Staff Country Reports, February 15, 2022_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Jamaica: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Jamaica](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2022/02/14/jamaica-2021-article-iv-consultation-press-release-staff-report-staff-statement-and-513147)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: February 15, 2022
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400203374.002

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### Economic impact of the pandemic
- Real GDP shrank by 10 percent.
- An early lockdown in the Spring of 2020 helped contain the number of Covid-19 cases but the impact on the economy was severe.
- Subjects noted: COVID-19, Expenditure, Fiscal policy, Fiscal responsibility law, Health, Inflation, International organization, Monetary policy, Prices, Public debt.
- Keywords noted: Caribbean, COVID-19, CPI index, decline in inflation, Europe, Fiscal responsibility law, Global, Inflation, inflation expectation, inflation in December, tourism stopover visitor.

### Government and central bank policy response
- The government temporarily reduced the fiscal balance target from +0.7 to -3 percent of GDP.
- The government increased spending on health and social protection.
- The government reduced the VAT rate.
- The central bank injected liquidity and encouraged loan moratoria to provide temporary support to the private sector.

### Growth outlook and risks
- Growth is expected to rebound to 4.7 percent in 2021 and 4.3 percent in 2022.
- Downside risks to the outlook are significant, notably from Covid-19.

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2022/02/14/jamaica-2021-article-iv-consultation-press-release-staff-report-staff-statement-and-513147_