GLBL ST 1 Lecture 9: Lecture 9
Lecture 9
Life and Debt movie
- People are indifferent as they can enter the country using their ID, Jamaicans
have to provide an extensive account of why they are visiting to enter
another country
- Jamaicans can’t move through customs easily, unlike Americans
- To improve balance of payments, devaluation, high interest rates, and wage
guidelines (which effectively reduce the price of local labor) were used
- IMF was serving short term interests
- Jamaica found that when they were free, they had all sorts of economic
problems – they needed time to build their economy
- Private banking: people needed loans when the oil prices soared
- IMF does not help with long term development, and they impose
tremendous restrictions on what you can spend for a short-term loan
- IMF wanted Jamaica to devalue their currency – to increase their exports,
Jamaica was heavily dependent on imports – made everything more
expensive
- Lack of sewage system – it goes into the Caribbean Sea and the oceans
- Cross conditionality – world bank and IMF – they conjunct together
- Dairy industry was unable to see fresh milk – there was a greater supply,
waste of product
- Americans subsidized their milk products by 137% - this cannot be
competed with
- People are being pressured by the WTO – US does not produce bananas,
MNC’s have set up their governments to protest – they do not have access to
the US market, they have access to Europe
o US has dominated the markets by Chiquita and Dole – the farms are
in Latin America; the salaries are really low – for a large social cost
- People were forced to go back to work with guns when protesting for a
higher wage – there are no worker unions
- No one is investing in bananas – the future looks dim
- Free zone – companies are able to produce goods for cheap – big problem as
the workers were not being paid properly, the companies decided to move
Document Summary
People are indifferent as they can enter the country using their id, jamaicans have to provide an extensive account of why they are visiting to enter another country. Jamaicans can"t move through customs easily, unlike americans. To improve balance of payments, devaluation, high interest rates, and wage guidelines (which effectively reduce the price of local labor) were used. Jamaica found that when they were free, they had all sorts of economic problems they needed time to build their economy. Private banking: people needed loans when the oil prices soared. Imf does not help with long term development, and they impose tremendous restrictions on what you can spend for a short-term loan. Imf wanted jamaica to devalue their currency to increase their exports, Jamaica was heavily dependent on imports made everything more expensive. Lack of sewage system it goes into the caribbean sea and the oceans. Cross conditionality world bank and imf they conjunct together.
