Footprints in the Sand - by Nigel Clarke (Hardcover)

About the Book

Footprints in the Sand details how Jamaica, through disciplined and deliberate policymaking, confronted these and other issues and emerged resilient in this time defined by polycrisis.

Book Synopsis

After nearly fifty years of starts, stops, reversals, and sacrifices, Jamaica has arrived at the shores of economic stability. Given the country's dire position only a decade ago, few would have believed this possible. Yet since then, Jamaica has reduced the national debt by a dramatic three-fourths of GDP, logged a record number of consecutive quarters of economic growth, reduced unemployment to historic lows, accumulated record levels of foreign exchange reserves, and become a model of fiscal prudence for other nations. What kinds of policies are responsible for this transformation? How can future leaders help ensure that the gains of this newfound stability do not wash away, sabotaging the nation's progress towards economic independence and greater well-being for more Jamaicans?

Capturing the story of Jamaica's economic pitfalls and progress across the years of his combined public service (2016-2024), Nigel Clarke, outgoing Minister of Finance and the Public Service, who was previously Ambassador of Economic Affairs, brings deep pragmatism, optimism, and love of country to bear upon these questions. Openly sharing the thought processes and principles that drove macroeconomic policymaking during his tenure - one that included a devastating global pandemic and a Category 5 hurricane - Clarke advocates for the continuation of policies that form the guardrails of stability and illustrates the importance of maintaining buffers against future shocks. Covering a wide range of topics, from inflation, debt, and international capital markets to disaster-risk financing, public-private partnerships, and strong institution building, Clarke presents with plain-spoken wisdom a pathway for approaching economic governance with intention, discipline, bipartisanship, and inspiration, leaving footprints in the sand for those who will write future chapters of Jamaica's economic history.

Review Quotes

Jamaica has struggled with issues common to many small island states - high debt, low growth, limited fiscal space, and economic vulnerability arising from climate change and global economic shocks. Footprints in the Sand details how Jamaica, through disciplined and deliberate policymaking, confronted these and other issues and emerged resilient in this time defined by polycrisis. Nigel's well-organised book holds valuable lessons for countries big and small!

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados

Jamaica's macro-economic indicators are the best they have been in nearly fifty years. If you want to understand the thought processes behind the economic policies that led to this achievement and that institutionalised economic stability, increased economic resilience, guided and realised economic recovery from historic economic crises and that created opportunity for Jamaicans, while pioneering ground-breaking transactions, then this book is definitely for you. Nigel's data driven analytic approach, clear-thinking pragmatism and courageous implementation have left Footprints in the Sand, that are worthy of emulation.

Horace Chang, Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica

Nigel's footprints in the sand are very large indeed! Under his leadership, Jamaica moved from serial failure of IMF programmes to being the institution's crown jewel of macroeconomic management. If you want to know what countries, large and small, can learn from the journey, Nigel's book is a must read.

Peter Blair Henry, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, and author of TURNAROUND: Third World Lessons for First World Growth

Footprints in the Sand stands as a major contribution to the practice of fiscal reform and grounded economic transformation. Through his unique, insider's perspective, Nigel Clarke chronicles one nation's journey in successful crisis management strategies, and illuminates more general pathways toward sustainable economic independence. His account of Jamaica's transformation from debt-ridden instability to a model of macro-economic stability reveals the high-stakes challenges and bold policies that shaped this Caribbean success story. It is essential reading for policymakers, economists, and specialists in emerging economies. And for the general reader interested in the story of one nation's triumph against economic odds, Footprints in the Sand provides both inspiration and invaluable insights.

Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology, Harvard University and author of The Confounding Island: Jamaica and the Postcolonial Predicament