News

Minister of Finance and Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke, Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) Executive Director Dr Damien King, and CAPRI Director of Strategy Yentyl Williams engage in conversation
August 28, 2023

The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) is proposing that the Government increase the personal income tax threshold by 47 per cent in the next budget cycle to help compensate for losses due to inflation since the last increase. The proposal, if accepted, will see the personal income tax threshold rising from $1.5 million per annum to $2.2 million.

The recommendation formed part of executive director of CAPRI Dr Damien King's presentation of the report "Budget Breakdown 2023: An Analysis of the Government's Proposed Revenue…

Riverton City dump
August 28, 2023

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”

That quote has been one of my favourites for years. It had been attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States. However, fact-checking has made me realise there is no credible evidence that he said it. Regardless, the quote resonates with me. The bottom line is that without empathy, there will be no justice.

As Martin Luther King Jr said, and this has been fact-checked, “Injustice anywhere is a…

Executive Director of CAPRI Dr Damien King
August 28, 2023

The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) has identified significant investment in capital expenditure on infrastructure as among the major policy shifts in the government’s national budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024.

Executive Director of CAPRI Dr Damien King, who presented the the think-tank’s breakdown of the budget at The UWI Regional Headquarters, in Mona, St Andrew explained,”The capital expenditure of the budget is a key metric that we need to look at, and, in recent years, there has been a welcome increase in…

Jamaica Lauds Its Diaspora For Supporting The Health Sector During The Pandemic
November 16, 2022

Many Jamaicans, when they hear the word “Diaspora,” immediately think of remittances. In reality, the contribution of Jamaican nationals abroad extends over a variety of fields. One area in which the impact has been significant is in healthcare. It becomes more apparent during current COVID-19 epidemic.

There are presently about as many Jamaicans who live abroad as there are on the island. According to statistics from the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), there are approximately 3 million people worldwide belonging to “…

Unpaid Domestic Work Could Be As High As J$991b Annually
October 25, 2022

A new study by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) has estimated that the value of unpaid care and domestic work in Jamaica could be as much as $991 billion annually, or 45 per cent of gross domestic product.

The study, Who Cares: The Real Cost of Unpaid Care and Domestic Work was released by the think tank on Thursday evening.

It noted that there had been no valuation of such work, which is mostly done by women, and its study sought to find out what the monetary costs would be if domestic labour were not done…

Rethink User Fees
September 25, 2022

From all accounts, after the abolition of user fees, patients poured into these facilities in search of treatment. It was reported in the first year after the fees were abolished that 16 per cent more patients were seen. The big question today, however, is this: Has the abolition of user fees improved equitable access to quality health services? If we listen to the assessment of Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott, the answer is a resounding no.

He had this to say recently: “People go to hospital and they spend days on a bench before…