Reference no: EM132883669

1. Choose ONE of the following questions. You must answer the selected question (and sub-questions) in its entirety. Please number each component of the question so that it is clear the section of the question to which you are responding.

2. You are expected to draw on the relevant literature and additional resources (including the full text of the article cited) to answer the questions posed. A reference list must therefore accompany your submission. The reference list is to be completed using the 16th edition of Chicago Manual of Style (Author-Date).

3. Your assignment should be completed using Times New Roman Font, be double- spaced, and left justified. It should also include a cover page, which specifies the course code, course title, name of course lecturer and student ID number.

4. You are reminded that examiners will take into account the proper use of the English Language in determining the marks for each response. Please consult the rubric attached to this question paper to determine how to maximize your final score. This assessment counts for a total of 50 marks.

QUESTION

Read the excerpt below and answer the questions which follow.

Caribbean prods G20 on debt-service ease
...
The prime minister contended that extreme fiscal contractions were having a dramatic impact on the ability of developing countries to meet their sustainable development and climate action commitments.
He argued that for developing countries designated as middle income, and particularly for small island developing states, the pandemic has exposed developmental vulnerabilities that make the designation as middle income arbitrary and unhelpful in crafting a fair global response.
...
The Barbadian prime minister asserted that developing states had been unable "to spend anywhere near as much as needed to avert massive unemployment and the new poverty".
She said that new poverty more often than not was reflected in vulnerability, while new wealth manifested itself in resilience.
"So while developed countries have added 90 per cent of the over US$12 trillion of increased government debt last year, the economies of COVID-sensitive developing countries have contracted by as much as 20 per cent, five times the world average. These figures are startling," she observed.....

Jamaica Gleaner. 2021. "Caribbean prods G20 on debt-service ease." Jamaica Gleaner, March 30, 2021.

I. Briefly explain how COVID-19 has exacerbated the debt-burden in Caribbean SIDS.

II. Compare and contrast the effects of COVID-19 on fiscal stability in the Caribbean AND Pacific regions.

III. Prime Minister Mia Mottley distinguished between ‘vulnerability' and ‘resilience'. Drawing on relevant authors, explain these two terms and discuss their relevance to a discussion on debt in middle-income countries in the Caribbean. (20 MARKS).

IV. Provide arguments FOR and AGAINST the recommendations for debt relief for COVID-sensitive Caribbean SIDS.