About
Fifteen years at the intersection of economics, policy, and enterprise.
I am Asokore H. R. Beckles — a Caribbean economist, statistician, and fiscal policy analyst with more than fifteen years' experience in public-sector service, regional labour leadership, and the building of a small group of Caribbean enterprises. The thread through all of it has been the same: how small island economies make good decisions with limited room for error.
At the Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs, Barbados, I serve as Chief Analyst in the Fiscal Risk Unit — leading the design of fiscal risk systems, maintaining macroeconomic and fiscal databases, and producing the economic and statistical analysis that informs government policy. Alongside this I have held senior statistical roles at the Ministry of Health & Wellness, the Economics & Statistics Office of the Cayman Islands, and the Barbados Statistical Service, and served as Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General of the Caribbean Congress of Labour.
Alongside the public work, I build. I operate as a property developer and investor, with interests across property, investment, extractives, events, and public equities in Barbados, Guyana, and the United States. My academic grounding — a PhD in progress at UWI Cave Hill, an MSc in Statistics from the University of Southampton, IMF Institute training in Securities Markets, and certifications in data science and social policy — anchors the work. I write, speak, and build with a single conviction: that the Caribbean is entitled to serious, data-led economic leadership, and that the work of providing it is not optional.
Career & Education
A working timeline.
2024 – present
Chairman, Credit Committee
City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union
Oversight of credit approval, risk management, and the member loan portfolio.
2024 – present
Chief Analyst, Fiscal Risk Unit
Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs, Barbados
Leading fiscal risk systems, macroeconomic databases, dashboards, and analytic work that informs medium-term budgeting and policy.
2021 – present
Principal
Private-sector interests
Property development, investment holding, mining, and events across Barbados, Guyana, and the United States.
2020 – present
PhD Candidate, Economics
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
Thesis: Income Inequality and the Pathway to Growth in Small Island Developing States.
2021 – 2024
Senior Analyst (Biostatistics)
Ministry of Health & Wellness, Barbados
National health data governance — database design, anonymisation, privacy compliance, and strategic analytics for health policy.
2019 – 2020
Statistician / Economist
Ministry of Finance & Economic Development, Cayman Islands
Labour Force Survey, CPI, Household Budget Survey; institutional risk and methodology reviews that contributed to removal from the EU blacklist.
2018 – 2019
Secretary-General
Caribbean Congress of Labour
Operational leadership of the regional labour body — governance, budget, compliance, and representation of unions across CARICOM.
2016 – 2018
Assistant Secretary-General
Caribbean Congress of Labour
Operations, financial reporting, programme coordination, and donor compliance.
2015 – 2019
General Treasurer
National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Barbados
Financial stewardship of Barbados' largest public-sector union.
2008 – 2019
Senior Statistician
Barbados Statistical Service
Led national statistical operations across Trade, National Accounts, CPI, and the Labour Force Survey.
2006 – 2008
MSc, Statistics
University of Southampton
Credentials
Academic and professional grounding.
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
PhD Candidate, Economics
University of Southampton
MSc, Statistics
International Monetary Fund Institute
Securities Markets (2024)
Turkey
Trade Unionism & Social Policy
Various — ongoing
Data Science & Business Intelligence
University of the West Indies
BSc, Economics & Statistics
Civic Leadership
Service and representation.
City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union
Chairman, Credit Committee
2024 – present
Caribbean Congress of Labour↗
Secretary-General
2018 – 2019
Caribbean Congress of Labour↗
Assistant Secretary-General
2016 – 2018
National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Barbados
General Treasurer
2015 – 2019
Grantley Adams International Airport
Director
Barbados Labour Party, 2016↗
Prospective Candidate
Beyond the work
The longer game.
Sport
Defensive end, university squad — Southampton, 2012–13, during the MSc.
Competition
Barbados Adventure Race. CrossFit and obstacle courses keep the mind honest.
International
Ankara — Trade Unionism & Social Policy certification, alongside Presidents and General Secretaries of trade union confederations from around the world.
Community
Christmas donation to Vedun House, 2025. Community work runs through the Village Foundation.
Travel
Washington, D.C. — 2024.
Travel
Portugal — summer 2024.