25th William G. Demas Memorial Lecture

The 2025 Lecture titled, “The Caribbean Challenge: Fostering Growth and Resilience Amidst Global Uncertainty,” will be delivered by Dr. Nigel Clarke, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund. Dr. Clarke is a former Governor of the Caribbean Development Bank.

Dr. Clarke will address the two key economic challenges that cut across most of the Caribbean, namely growth and resilience. In recent decades, the Caribbean has witnessed a steady decline in potential growth, while buffers remain limited. Global uncertainty is compounding these challenges, with geopolitical fragmentation and policy shifts. The persistent threat of natural disasters adds to downside risks for the Region.

The Lecture will explore how policymakers can unlock the Region’s potential in this environment, boost productivity, and foster resilience. It will further expound on Dr. Clarke’s views of what policies should be prioritised to meet people’s aspirations and the areas in which the Region can collaborate to achieve common goals.

Keynote Speaker- Dr. Nigel Clarke

Mr. Clarke assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director at the IMF on October 31, 2024.

Before joining the IMF, Mr. Clarke served as Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service, and a Member of Parliament, since March 2018. Prior to this, he served as Ambassador of Economic Affairs from 2016. During this period, he stewarded his country’s economy to a stronger and more sustainable position. He spearheaded ambitious national reforms, including central bank independence, creation of an independent fiscal commission, as well as other tax policy, public body governance, public procurement, public sector compensation, and public investment management reforms. He also led Jamaica’s economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic with innovative and well-targeted policy support and completed privatizations and public-private partnerships of major infrastructure assets. Under his stewardship, Jamaica implemented a multi-layered disaster risk financing model, and became the first small country to independently sponsor a catastrophe bond, with World Bank assistance. In 2023, Jamaica successfully completed its first ever international issue of a local currency denominated bond, and in 2024, Jamaica successfully executed its first ever securitization transaction in international capital markets.

In 2022, Mr. Clarke was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation. Prior to his public service career, he was Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of the Musson Group, a regional conglomerate, having started his career as an Equity Derivatives Trader at Goldman Sachs in London.

Mr. Clarke holds a PhD in Numerical Analysis from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a Master of Science Degree in Applied Statistics, also from Oxford, while he was a Commonwealth Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of the West Indies where he was a Jamaica Independence Scholar.