Weekly column
The Bridgetown Brief.
A short weekly dispatch on what is moving in Caribbean economies, fiscal policy, and the long view. Plain enough for the general reader, substantive enough for the practitioner. Every issue, in order.
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The Bridgetown Brief.
A short weekly column on Caribbean economies, fiscal policy, and the long view. Read it here, or have it land in your inbox. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Issue№ 07
The Third Arrangement
On 14 May 2026, the IMF announced a staff-level agreement on a 36-month precautionary Stand-By Arrangement for Barbados, providing access to SDR 189 million should it be needed. What a precautionary arrangement actually signals, and what it means for the rest of the Caribbean, is the more important story.
Issue№ 06
Surplus and Arrears, in the Same Year
Antigua and Barbuda ran a 2025 primary surplus near 5 per cent of GDP. The same staff report flagged significant arrears to Paris Club creditors and domestic suppliers. Both sentences are true. They describe the same fiscal year. The instrument that holds them together is the Citizenship-by-Investment programme, and the same instrument tells the opposite story in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Issue№ 05
After the Storm, and Before One
Total investment in the Caribbean averaged 28 per cent of regional GDP in 2023, above both OECD and Latin American averages. The OECD and IDB say the figure is misleading. What is driving it, and what it is actually building, tells a different story.
Issue№ 04
The Floor Beneath the Figures
On 20 April 2026, 54,300 Barbadians received the first payment under the Cost of Living Cash Credit. The monthly $100 transfer is the social dimension of BERT 2026. The quarterly review on 29 April will show the GDP line. The 54,300 payments processed show something the GDP line does not.
Issue№ 03
The Price of Discipline
Within six days, the Central Bank of Barbados made two announcements that say more about the economy than either one does on its own. Fiscal discipline without credit access is austerity by another name; with it, it is a strategy that can hold.
Issue№ 02
When Tourism Is the Weather
Fitch says Barbados’ fiscal trajectory is improving. It also says the tourism base underneath is not. Cruise arrivals are up 9.6 per cent; stay-overs only 3.3. Volume has outpaced value. When Fitch flags tourism, it is flagging the ground everything else is standing on.
Issue№ 01
The Gap Between January and April
On 16 April 2026, ahead of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters that “even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade.” The next day, the Fund’s World Economic Outlook confirmed the shape.