Keep debt in check!

According to Barbados Nation, For Barbados to maintain its credit rating, or get a higher one that benefits ordinary Barbadians more, Government will have to keep reducing its debt while sustaining public investment to spur higher economic growth. That is economist Dr Ankie Scott-Joseph’s reading of the situation following international credit rating agency’s Fitch’s affirmation of its B+ with a positive outlook rating for Barbados. Scott-Joseph, who lectures in economics at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, told Barbados Business Authority that “one factor Fitch says could lead to an upgrade is a deeper domestic debt market, in which Government borrows more at home”. She also noted that “high primary surpluses and higher trend growth are the two other factors Fitch says could lead to an upgrade”. “Fitch’s upgrade factors – high surpluses, more domestic borrowing and higher growth – are the same re