Dear Editor,

The Department of Economics has taken note of your editorial of February 18, 2010 in which you commented on its role in public activism. The editorial is based on several misconceptions and inaccuracies which I should like to correct in order that your readers might have a full appreciation of the facts.

In recent years, the Department, far from being inactive, has been involved in a critical form of public engagement through the organisation of conferences, seminars, public lectures and symposia in which members of the Department have actively participated. These different fora have contributed to the public debate surrounding important aspects of public policy impacting economic development in Jamaica and the Caribbean region and speak clearly to the ongoing role of the Department in public scholarship.

Over the last three years, the Department has organised 11 public conferences, symposia and seminars focusing on areas such as climate change, economic growth and transformation, macro-economic policy, global financial crisis, fiscal policy including government revenue and expenditure and public debt, export competitiveness and commercial banking.

Since January 2010, the Department has initiated a seminar series in collaboration with the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) which discusses various aspects of the economic models used by PIOJ as part of the country’s economic planning process. On Thursday, February 25, the Department in collaboration with PIOJ hosted a public seminar on the ‘Jamaican Economy: Implications of the IMF agreement’ which was attended by a wide cross section of persons.

It is important to note here that all sections of the media, including your own newspaper, were invited to these public activities. Regrettably, not all media have responded to these invitations.

Many colleagues in the Department of Economics are engaged in research which provides policy inputs for critical areas of Caribbean economic development. This work has often been done in partnership with colleagues from other disciplines and includes policy oriented work on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, financial services, telecommunications, agriculture and fisheries, exports, renewable energy and climate change, remittances, crime and violence, children and poverty and the economic burden of diseases.

Specific colleagues from our Department have also been regularly involved in public debates through their participation in public fora as well as the print and electronic media. Different sections of the media constantly call on the academic expertise of the Department to provide comments on topical economic development issues affecting Jamaica. In addition to the areas listed, our academic staff members have commented regularly on areas such as fiscal policy, public debt, monetary policy, investment, international financial institutions, international trade and regional economic integration.

In terms of the Department’s relevance and visibility, which reflects its public scholarship, all of the activities outlined point to our continuing role in providing wider ranging views and policy options targeting economic development of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

In a different era, the Department played a much more dominant role in the public policy debates. You will agree that during that period, daily newspapers performed different tasks geared towards shaping public opinion. Today, the situation has changed dramatically. In this context, I would be happy to arrange a meeting with representatives of your organisation to determine how we can overcome the information deficit related to what we are doing in the Department of Economics and to ensure that your newspaper is more fully involved in our various activities.

I trust that this letter will be given as wide an exposure to the public as your editorial of February 18, 2010.

Claremont Kirton

Professor and Head of Department of Economics

UWI, Mona