Even the quiet but persistent speculation about the possibility of a local currency devaluation can seriously hurt the Barbados economy.
Political scientist Dr Don Marshall made this point yesterday while addressing the monthly Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry luncheon at Hilton Barbados.
“Barbados is not in any danger of devaluation,” he said, “but . . . it is important to get the bogeyman out in the open because of the deleterious effects that a whisper campaign can cause.”
Marshall told the gathering of business leaders that such “campaigns” usually caused a flight of capital and created a black market for the hoarding of foreign exchange and commodities.
In a wide-ranging address, Marshall, acting director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill, said there was need for both Government and the private sector to deal with “institutional incompetence” and for business people not to “dodge” paying their taxes.
