ABSTRACT
For some time, reports on Jamaica's economic situation by major international financial organizations have begun with the observation that Jamaica's real GDP per capita had declined in every year after 1972. This downward spiral, the reports agree, appears particularly striking since the country is well endowed with natural resources, has well educated and skilled manpower, enjoys the advantages of proximity to the lucrative North American market and possesses a developed financial-system. Much of the recent literature on the Jamaican economy has, in fact, attempted to place the blame for the country's economic demise on a variety of sources.
