Budget Alert: Grenada’s Fiscal Issues and Economic Outlook

Budget Alert is a series of Articles on economic and fiscal issues in Grenada, emanating from the national budgets. It is a reliable and credible source of information on the economic issues arising from Grenada’s national budgets. In Grenada, and in the other countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), fiscal policy is the main instrument for managing the economy which is generally pursued through the implementation of the annual national budget. The national budget is the financial plan for the country which is approved by Parliament, and it is generally anchored in the country’s economic and social development plan. Budget Alert Volume 3 highlights some of the economic and fiscal issues from the 2023 National Budget in a series of Articles. The articles are related to socio-economic issues, management of the economy, the status of the public finances and includes articles related to the 2024 national budget.

MS. LAUREL THERESA BAIN was formerly employed as a Senior Director at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. She has strong technical and administrative skills which were strengthened as she served for over 25 years in various positions including that of Deputy Director in the Research Department, Senior Director of the Statistics Department, and Adviser and Senior Director in the Governor’s Office. Ms. Bain has undertaken numerous assessments of the economies of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and research on fiscal policy and taxation issues in the ECCU. Ms. Bain has worked extensively with international development agencies and regional institutions. She represented the countries of the ECCU at the IMF and the World Bank and participated in ongoing dialogue with these institutions. During her career at the ECCB, Ms. Bain received the Governor’s Award on two occasions for excellent and dedicated service. Ms. Bain was engaged in capacity building programmes in CARICOM. She provided training to senior public officers in Dominica, Montserrat, Anguilla, and trainers in these countries along with The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. She has been involved in undertaking assessment and developing training programs for parliamentarians, with Guyana as the pilot. Ms. Bain is the Author of the books: Fiscal Policy in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union: Challenges and Opportunities; Fiscal Policy: The Economy; and The Tax Structure of the Member Countries of the ECCB. Ms. Bain holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Master of Science (MSc) degrees in Economics from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad, and Tobago.