Volume 2 Issue 1

The high cost of energy in Jamaica, one of the highest in the Caribbean region, is usually cited as a hindrance to industrial development and efficiency, especially in the manufacturing sector. High energy cost is also considered to be a national energy security issue and the government is taking steps to ensure adequate supply of energy at affordable prices. In the current National Development Plan, the government has set a target for renewable energy sources to supply 20% of the country’s energy need by the year 2030. Using a linear programing model of energy planning, we examine how realistically this target could be achieved. Our findings indicate that the 20% renewable energy target is technically achievable with the optimal plan showing a mixture of wind power, hydropower and bagasse power but no solar power. However, when the timeline for investment in new generating capacities that will ensure the attainment of the target is considered, it becomes highly improbable that the target will be met. This study fills the gap that exists in evidence-based analysis of energy policy in Jamaica.

This study concentrated on local private companies' evaluation to solve crises. It explains the factors that have an effect on these companies success by developing strategies, establishing general budget supporting up their conditions, fair dealing with tax and clear corporate responsibility duties. The companies that get government support may reach their aims of solving the crises or may develop trickeries to get unfair profits besides government support which increases depression. The researcher suggests the use of three tables which will be presented in this study, as models to evaluate the fair general budget policies, the ability of local private companies to get support, and also to evaluate the sharing between companies and government. These tables are important and need to be monitored and can provide direction for companies to a condition which is to cover citizens need locally, at appropriate prices, at a suitable time and place. On another hand, a figure displayed in this research can be used to watch a company's reaction in crises.

There is now considerable disquiet about the appropriate monetary strategy that central banks should follow in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Several influential commentators have called for the abandonment of inflation targeting. Empirical research examining three major economies demonstrates that inflation targeting was effective prior to the crisis and a more flexible form of targeting may still be appropriate after the crisis.

This paper studies dynamic interdependence among physical capital, resource and human capital. We integrate the Solow one-sector growth, Uzawa-Lucas two-sector and some neoclassical growth models with renewable resource models. The economic system consists of the households, production sector, resource sector and education sector. We take account of three ways of improving human capital: Arrow's learning by producing (Arrow, 1962), Uzawa's learning by education (Uzawa, 1965), and Zhang's learning by consuming (Zhang, 2007). The model describes a dynamic interdependence among wealth accumulation, human capital accumulation, resource change, and division of labor under perfect competition. We simulate the model to demonstrate existence of equilibrium points and motion of the dynamic system. We also examine effects of changes in the productivity of the resource sector, the utilization efficiency of human capital, the propensity to receive education, and the propensity to save upon dynamic paths of the system.