A new global study is warning that the cuts in investment that companies in Barbados and other Caribbean countries made to get through the COVID-19 pandemic are now threatening economic growth and recovery across the region. And it has recommended the creation of a non-political, public-private institution to help companies that suffered during the pandemic but remain viable.The report published Wednesday by the Centre for Global Development (CGD) and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) said that more than two years after the onset of COVID, productive capital numbers remain 20 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, and new policies are needed to help companies in the Caribbean and Latin America boost investment and growth.“To reverse the situation and prevent it from leading to a type of economic long COVID where a weak private sector fails to create jobs and stimulate economic growth, governments in the region should actively pursue a series of policies to help companies boost investment and hire new employees,” the report recommended.
