## Public Debt and Productivity: The Difficult Quest for Growth in Jamaica

_IMF Working Papers, October 1, 2006_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Public Debt and Productivity: The Difficult Quest for Growth in Jamaica](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/public-debt-and-productivity-the-difficult-quest-for-growth-in-jamaica-19489)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/public-debt-and-productivity-the-difficult-quest-for-growth-in-jamaica-19489/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/public-debt-and-productivity-the-difficult-quest-for-growth-in-jamaica-19489/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/public-debt-and-productivity-the-difficult-quest-for-growth-in-jamaica-19489/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Rodolphe Blavy
- Published: October 1, 2006
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451864953.001

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### Summary findings
- The paper analyzes Jamaica's experience of low growth despite consistently high investment.
- Cross-country analysis provides evidence of a significant and negative relationship between total public debt and productivity growth.
- In Jamaica, high public debt has been associated with macroeconomic uncertainty and an output structure that relied excessively on a few maturing sectors with limited scope for productivity growth.
- Public investment has been crowded out by debt service, further adversely affecting productivity growth.

### Cross-country evidence
- Significant and negative relationship identified between total public debt and productivity growth (as stated in the study's cross-country analysis).

### Channels through which high public debt affected Jamaica
- Macroeconomic uncertainty linked to high public debt.
- Output structure dependence on a few maturing sectors with limited scope for productivity growth.
- Crowding out of public investment by debt service, negatively impacting productivity growth.

### Subject areas and keywords
- Subject: Informal economy, Productivity, Public debt, Public investment and public-private partnerships (PPP), Public investment spending
- Keywords: debt, GDP, investment, Jamaica, WP

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## Content in this bundle

- **Selected Growth Trends, 1980–2004**
  - [Selected Growth Trends, 1980–2004 (Markdown version)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2006/_wp06235.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Selected Growth Trends, 1980–2004 (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2006/_wp06235.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/public-debt-and-productivity-the-difficult-quest-for-growth-in-jamaica-19489_