Economics & Finance / Macroeconomics / Unemployment & Labor Markets

Jamaica's Development Paradox: 100% Electricity, 40% Youth Unemployment

Jamaica has achieved modern development milestones like universal electricity access and a booming tourism economy. Yet, beneath this success lies a ticking demographic time bomb. This deep dive into decades of World Bank data reveals a startling paradox: a nation that successfully captured a demographic dividend now faces a 38% unemployment rate among its educated young women, while young men are abandoning the formal education system. We'll unpack how a shift to a service-based economy, reliant on volatile tourism and locked into fossil fuels, creates a fragile system that leaves a generation behind. What does this mean for the future of development in the 21st century?