About
Twenty years at the intersection of economics, policy, and enterprise.
I am Asokore H. R. Beckles, a Caribbean economist and statistician. I have spent twenty years working in public service, in regional labour leadership, and in building a small group of Caribbean enterprises. One question runs through all of it. How do small island economies make good decisions when their room for error is so small?
I was born in Edgecliff, in the Pine, St. Michael, one of four children on each side of my family. I was raised by my mother and my maternal grandfather, who worked as a barber in Bridgetown. My mother did what she could to rise up, be it working small jobs, buying wholesale and selling retail products on the side, travelling to work in the United States, all to keep us fed. Two Caribbean institutions changed my trajectory. Public education, and the labour movement that men like Sir Grantley Adams, Sir Hugh Springer and Sir Frank Walcott helped to build. Public service, for me, is repayment. That conviction shapes everything I build now.
The analytical foundation runs through two tracks. The first is the practitioner work, and it is public service in the plainest sense. Fiscal risk systems design, macroeconomic and fiscal databases, and the statistical analysis that informs sovereign debt management and medium-term budget frameworks. The Caribbean needs this work done properly, and it runs through the Fiscal Risk Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Barbados. Before that, senior analytical roles at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Economics and Statistics Office of the Cayman Islands, and the Barbados Statistical Service. The second track is the labour movement. Secretary-General of the Caribbean Congress of Labour. General Treasurer of the National Union of Public Workers. Twenty years of learning how institutions work, how they fail, and how they can be built to last.
The Bridgetown Brief is a weekly column on Caribbean economies and fiscal policy. The Blue-Green Token is a sustainable finance concept for small island developing states, using blockchain and tokenisation to channel capital into terrestrial and marine sustainability projects. A PhD in Economics at UWI Cave Hill is in progress. The academic grounding includes an MSc in Statistics from the University of Southampton and IMF Institute training in Securities Markets. I write and I research because the companies I build need the thinking, and the region deserves both.
Now
What I'm working on this season.
Last updated · May 2026
Asokore Industries and the McBeck Group
Managing the operating portfolio across the Caribbean, the Americas, and Asia. Active work through Pifini Inc in real estate development and McBeck Mining in extractives, with the energy and agribusiness pillars in development.
The Caribbean Debt Tracker, Issue No. 02
Refresh against the October 2026 IMF World Economic Outlook release. Filling in Dominica, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines rows as their Article IV cycles close.
The Bridgetown Brief, weekly column
A new issue every Monday on what is moving in Caribbean economies and fiscal policy. Subscriber list growing through the spring.
PhD thesis, UWI Cave Hill
Income Inequality and the Pathway to Growth in Small Island Developing States. In progress.
The Blue-Green Token, ecosystem outreach
Conversations with multilateral institutions, regional regulators, and project developers about the next stage of the concept.
Fiscal Risk Unit, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (Barbados)
Day work. Fiscal risk systems, macroeconomic and fiscal databases, and the analytic work that informs medium-term budgeting.
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
Chairman and CEO
Asokore Industries / McBeck Group of Companies
Multi-sector portfolio across real estate development, mining, venture capital, energy, agribusiness, and infrastructure in the Caribbean, the Americas, and Asia. The full portfolio lives on the Ventures page.
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.
2012 – 2013
MSc, Statistics
University of Southampton
2003 – 2007
BSc, Economics (Special)
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
2001 – 2003
Associate of Arts, Economics & Mathematics
Barbados Community College
Credentials
Academic and professional grounding.
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
PhD Candidate, Economics
2020 – in progress
University of Southampton
MSc, Statistics
2012 – 2013
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
BSc, Economics (Special)
2003 – 2007
Barbados Community College
Associate of Arts, Economics & Mathematics
2001 – 2003
International Monetary Fund Institute
Securities Markets
2024
Capstone project on economic empowerment
Development Educator (DE)
2025
Microsoft
Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300)
2024
Microsoft
Azure Data Scientist Associate (DP-100)
2023
EUROSTAT, CARICOM & ARTEMIS
Eurotrace
2019
University of Ankara Haci Bayram Veli (AHBV)
Trade Unionism & Social Policy (TUSP)
2019
WTO Institute of Training & Technical Cooperation
Statistics of International Trade in Services
2012
Professional memberships
Royal Statistical Society
Member
2017 – present
Caribbean Association of Professional Statisticians
Member
2017 – present
Publications
In print and in peer review.
Peer-reviewed journal
Real Pirates of the Caribbean: Sociopsychological Traits, the Environment, Personal Ethics and the Propensity for Digital Piracy in Barbados
Troy Lorde, Dwayne Devonish, Asokore Beckles
Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies · Vol. 35, No. 1 · March 2010
Produced through a long-running research collaboration with Prof Troy Lorde (Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI Cave Hill) between 2008 and 2018.
Trade publication
A Salary Increase is Necessary for Economic Growth and Productivity
Asokore Beckles
The Public Worker · Issue No. 1 · March 2017
Recognition
Employee of the Year
Barbados Statistical Department
2012
Rookie of the Year
University of Southampton American Football
2012–2013
President of the Best Club & Society of the Year
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
2005–2007
Most Improved Guild of Students Councillor
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
2005–2006
Caribbean Aspiring Leader
University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
2005
Civic Leadership
Service and representation.
City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union
Chairman, Credit Committee
2024 – present
Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Barbados
Senior Supervisor & Manager
2012 – 2019
Grantley Adams International Airport
Director
2018 – 2020
Grantley Adams International Airport
Chairman, Finance & Audit Committee
2018 – 2019
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
NUPW Insurance Agent Inc., Barbados
Director
2015 – 2019
Village Foundation, Barbados
Chairman
2014 – 2019
Barbados Labour Party↗
President, St. Michael South-East Branch
2014 – 2016
League of Young Socialists, Barbados Labour Party↗
President (two terms)
2014 – 2016
Pinelands Football Club, Barbados
Treasurer
2014 – 2015
Constituency Council of Barbados
Councilman & Chairman of Projects and Programmes Committee
2010 – 2012
Barbados Labour Party
Prospective Candidate
2016
Beyond the work
The longer game.
Sport
Defensive end, university squad. Southampton, 2012–13, during the MSc.
Competition
Barbados Adventure Race and the Barbados CrossFit Games (2017–2019). CrossFit and obstacle courses keep the mind honest.
International
Ankara, Turkey. Trade Unionism and 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.