Vincentian Financial Literacy expert sees a star in the East

Leading Vincentian financial literacy expert and author Stacia Morris has appealed for Vincentians to change their focus to non conventional developing nations, which she believes are potential markets for this country’s greatest export.{{more}}

Morris was speaking at the 10th lecture in the series organized by her alma mater, the Girls’ High School, last Thursday, February 10, at Frenches House, on the topic The Global Economic and Financial Crisis and a Small economy.

The Connecticut, United States, resident said that there is a global economic shift from the west to the east, and singled out a number of countries which she and others believe are the future of world economic power.

“I want to introduce you to what are called the BRIC countries… Brazil, Russia, India and China…. Let’s talk about Brazil, India and China.”

“China is the fastest growing economy in the world today, followed by India, followed by Brazil… while the place that we travel to the most (the United States) is growing at a 2.9%, China is growing by 9%, India by eight and Brazil by four. Now you don’t have to be a mathematician to understand what’s going to happen.”

Morris said that according to estimates, China is estimated to become the world’s largest economy between 2020 and 2030, with 24% of the world’s GDP by 2030; double the size of the United States. She said that it is also estimated that India and China would have a combined economy greater than the rest of the world.

“So we ask ourselves what’s happening? We always exported our human capital. Where are we going to export them to, based on what I’ve just told you: declining US, or growing China, India and Brazil?”

“I am not predicting the demise of the US… but I am emphasizing that we need to look at additional economics in the east as migrant destinations. Let’s see what this would mean as a migrant destination to the people of the Caribbean.”

The upbeat Morris informed the audience that China, with a population of 1.3 billion people and growing, is projected very soon to be the largest English speaking country in the world, and suggested the possibility of job opportunities for Vincentian teachers there.

She also pointed out that a country like Brazil, with its population of 191 million, may not be in need of our general human capital, but is in need of specialized technicians and engineers, among other skilled workers.

“We need to get the education wheels churning and we need to churn out technicians, information/ technology technicians. We need to churn out engineers.We need to churn out what the rest of the world needs.”

Morris said that the West Indian migrants need to explore and integrate into other cultures apart from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and suggested that Vincentians begin learning and speaking foreign languages as they prepare for the predicted shift.

According to Morris, Vincentians of all ages should have a hunger for knowledge, and stressed the importance of reading and paying attention to world news, financial and otherwise.

She said that the smaller economies need to be flexible in the changing world, understanding what the rest of the world needs so that the human capital could be provided for that need.

“We need to prepare to emigrate to the emerging economies. We need need to prepare to be strangers in a strange land.”

“What steps are we taking in this country?”