In a recent address to Dominica’s Parliament, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has publicly endorsed the methodological rigor of the International Monetary Fund’s January 2026 update to the World Economic Outlook, affirming the report was compiled diligently and properly even as he acknowledged points of disagreement with its findings.
The latest iteration of the IMF’s flagship economic analysis revises the fund’s earlier October 2025 global growth projections upward, forecasting a 3.3% global expansion in 2026 followed by a 3.2% rise in 2027. The modest upgrade is attributed to four key drivers: growing capital allocation to technology, widespread productivity gains unlocked by artificial intelligence adoption, accommodative fiscal and monetary policy frameworks across major economies, and unexpectedly resilient activity in the global private sector.
The report also highlights the uneven nature of the post-pandemic global recovery, noting that advanced and major emerging economies including the United States and India are on track to outperform slower-growing regions such as the eurozone and China, a gap rooted in divergent structural conditions and recovery trajectories. Domestically, the IMF’s assessment paints a largely positive picture of Dominica’s 2025 economic performance: real GDP growth accelerated to 4.5% up from 3.5% in 2024, fueled by a booming tourism sector that now sits 36% above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, alongside targeted public development investments across key infrastructure sectors. Skerrit outlined these investments to parliamentary representatives, noting major ongoing projects include a new airport, a cable car tourism development, a marina, expanded affordable housing, road network upgrades, support for the local hotel industry and private sector growth, and ongoing reforms to improve Dominica’s business climate and agricultural sector.
On price stability, the report notes Dominica has successfully tamed inflation, with annual average inflation reaching 2.5% in 2025, an outcome that aligns with the broader global trend of moderating price growth. Globally, the IMF observes that while aggregate inflation is cooling, many emerging market economies still face persistent upward price pressures that demand careful, targeted monetary policy management. The fund also projects that U.S. inflation will return to the central bank’s 2% target at a more gradual pace than initially expected.
Skerrit pushed back against domestic critics who have framed the IMF’s findings as critical to his administration, telling lawmakers “They believe that some of the things that the IMF said is a negative to the government, but I tell them no. I love the IMF report, I do not agree with some of the things they say, the kind of language they use sometimes, but I respect the report.”
Quoting the report’s core policy recommendations, Skerrit noted the IMF emphasizes that sustained long-term growth momentum depends on fiscal consolidation, targeted structural economic reforms, and expanded multilateral cooperation. The fund advises global policymakers to rebuild depleted fiscal buffers, preserve price and financial sector stability, reduce policy uncertainty that drags on investment, and roll out focused industrial policies to boost long-term productivity.
On one key observation — an elevated current account deficit driven largely by high volumes of construction-related imports — Skerrit offered a counterinterpretation, framing the gap as a positive indicator of ongoing economic activity. “It means Mr. Speaker, in essence, some things are happening,” he told parliament, signaling that the import surge is a byproduct of the large-scale infrastructure investments driving Dominica’s current growth phase.
