×
ESO

Regional Training Makes Sense of Macroeconomics Data

"Photo captions Photo by Information Officer Cornelia Olivier."

Photo captions Photo by Information Officer Cornelia Olivier. ESO Director Maria Zingapan with CARTAC Programme Director Therese Turner-Jose at the first macroeconomic statistical course held in Cayman. With them are course participants (L-R) Craig Stedman from Dominica’s Finance Ministry, ESO’s Theodore Thompson, and Yannick Gordon from Antigua and Barbuda’s Finance Ministry.
Understanding macroeconomic factors can help Cayman’s key government staff plan for its budget and prepare economic recommendations.

For this reason the Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) joined forces with the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) to host a macroeconomics statistics course in Grand Cayman this week (Monday, 13 October).

⫿ESO will be introducing System of National Accounts and Balance of Payment statistics early next year. As such we are very glad for this opportunity to train a core group of users to understand these macroeconomic indicators.??? says ESO Director Maria Zingapan.

She adds: ⫿For the first time the Cayman Islands will have its own macroeconomic statistics such as the sector contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), and a good understanding among key users will enhance their practical use for economic planning such as revenue projections and budget analysis.???

Cayman is well-represented at the course with delegates from the ESO, Treasury, the Revenue Unit, the Budget Management Unit, and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). Other participating countries include St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica.

CARTAC Programme Director Therese Turner-Jones welcomed the opportunity to provide this kind of training to the region: ⫿Macroeconomic indicators underpin everything we do ??? it signals whether we should prepare for an economic slow down or whether we are about to enter a growth period. For governments to be successful, it is very important that they know what to plan for in the way of infrastructure and investment policies.???

She further explains: ⫿This course is designed to show economists and statisticians what data they need to collect to have a good snapshot of how their countries’ economies, and then how to put these pieces in order to draft sound fiscal and other policies.???
(GIS)


For the official Cayman Islands Government web portal, www.gov.ky:
Web title: Macroeconomics Made Easy
Web blurb: Several staff members from Government departments and ministries joined their Caribbean counterparts for a week-long macroeconomics course in Grand Cayman.