A report released by RBC Caribbean on Tuesday entitled, "Prepare for Disruption and Surprises in 2017" says that 2017 is likely to "favour those promising change, even if they can't or won't deliver."
The RBC Caribbean Economic Report, which reviews the economic conditions of 13 Caribbean territories, notes that the world has now entered into a "post-truth" phase with ever-increasing levels of income and wealth inequality.
It attempts to link the current global political climate with the failure of "trickle-down economics" by asking the question: could these unacceptable levels of inequality be the underlying cause of 2016's political upsets?.
The report also asks a series of questions about the direction technocrats will take in balancing economic goals with the underlying realities.
Its asks: will policymakers now decisively address this inequality crisis which feeds instability and suppresses growth, ultimately affecting everyone, including the one per cent?
Of the countries under review, all with the exception of T&T are projected to register growth in real GDP in 2017 with T&T's GDP projected to decline by two per cent in 2017. The report also estimates that the economy of T&T contracted by 6.7 per cent in 2016. The Dominican Republic is projected to lead the Caribbean region in economic activity in 2017, with real GDP growth expected to average 4.5 per cent for the year.
The report notes that countries in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) continue to suffer the effects of high unemployment with the figure standing at 20 per cent. In spite of a small decline in GDP of one per cent in 2016, Cuba leads the region by having the lowest unemployment figure at three per cent.
In terms of wealth per capita, the Cayman Islands stands as the region's wealthiest nation with a GDP per capita of US$54,338 while Guyana stands as the poorest on a per capita basis with a figure of US$3,596.
Barbados continues to struggle under the weight of its fiscal debt, having the highest debt to GDP ratio in the region with debt standing at 156.6 per cent of GDP.
As a result of sluggish economic activity, inflation in the region remained mostly contained, with most country's registering inflation under two per cent. Suriname stands in stark contrast to the rest of the region with an inflation figure of 77 per cent.
The report shows that for countries that depend on tourism, the results for 2016 were mostly positive. According to data pulled from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Barbados and Bahamas all saw increases in stop-over arrivals while Aruba and Curacao and Sint Maarten registered moderate declines.
Based on the report, the credit rating and outlook for the region remains mostly "stable" with only T&T and Barbados having their outlook downgraded to "negative." Andre Worrell
Of the countries under review, all with the exception of T&T are projected to register growth in real GDP in 2017 with T&T's GDP projected to decline by two per cent in 2017.