Background of the Jamaican Economic Crisis: Factors Leading to the Deterioration of the Balance of Payments on Current Account

The 1970s and early 1980s proved to be a period of considerable stress for Caribbean economies in general and the Jamaican economy in particular. Throughout most of this period a combination of events caused the international economy to be less conducive to stable growth for the country and region in general, and to balance of payments adjustment in particular. ¹