Economic Analysis Over the years economic performance has always been of great concern to market makers and dealers, as such; a great deal of effort, research and money is spent on trying to ensure that given country's economy , for example Jamaica is performing to its given potential or enjoying economic growth and / or stability. That being said there are a number of indicators that has influenced the present state and the economic vision of the Jamaican economy , the political environment, Gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment, inflation, crime and violence , tax reform, interest rates, exchange rates, foreign direct investments and infrastructure development . The political environment is of critical importance to investors when looking forward to conduct business in a given country, for investors, political risk can simply be defined as the risk of losing money due to changes that occur in a country's government or regulatory environment. But political risk comes in many forms. For example a new president or prime minister, a change in the country's ruling party, or an important piece of new legislation. All of these changes can have a big impact on a country's economic environment and investor perceptions about a country. However given the structure of our political system the changes in the country's ruling party wouldn't present such political risk through the period of 2013-2015, because the next elections are not due until 2016/2017. The aspect of unemployment has always been at the forefront of a country's economic vision as it has always had a multiple effect on the economic variables. Looking towards the year 2013 to 2015 our current government plans to introduce various policies, one such being the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme "JEEP" to address the issue of unemployment rate which currently sits at 12.9%. will simultaneously stimulate economic activity and create employment There are also plans to encourage the development of medium to small size enterprises; this is an integral aspect of the economy which has the potential to create a significant amount of jobs. If these are successfully implemented then unemployment rate will decrease. YEARS RATE 2011 - 2.9 2012 - 12.6 2013 - 12.1 2014 - 11.8 2015 - 11.7 There are also medium term commitments to deploy resources for training to enlarge the human resource pool. With great emphasis placed on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) coupled with improved labor skills which will have multiple effects on development. SMEs equipped with competent personnel will be efficient and growth will be inevitable, ceteris paribus. Another initiative that will have a positive impact on the economy is the Jamaica 50 Growth and Development Fund (J50GDF) which will channel investments from outside and within Jamaica and deploy such resources into investments into Small and Medium-sized enterprises in the form of equity. This will propel the growth of new high-growth industries and scaling up and creation of new ventures to create jobs and economic growth. GDP at current prices were reported at $1047.42 billion in 2011. YEARS GDP (current prices) 2011 - 1047.42 2012 - 1050.32 2013 - 155.59 2014 - 1160.54 2015 - 1201.32 There will be a gradual increase in GDP due to reforms in the public sector which will increase efficiency especially at the customers' service level both for citizens and for investors, re structuring of Petrojam through joint venture partnership to reduce petroleum cost thus contributing to increase national productivity and the fight against corruption which will definitely cut back on government expenditure which is a component of GDP. There will be a concerted effort to mobilise investments in key productive sectors which will form the basis for the growth strategy. The identified sectors are; Information and Communications Technology, tourism, energy and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME). Crime and Violence 2013-2015 For many years the crime in Jamaica has negatively impacted the investments and economic growth. The current administration has proposed long term measures (2012 and beyond) to strengthen and widen the countries crime detection and crime fighting efforts through Institutional improvements which will be Targeting organized crime that will Engendering trust. There will also be the establishment of the Police management authority, which will be a statutory authority with jurisdiction over all matters relating to the police including administration, management and regulation. The Establish of the Universal Access Fund (UAF) as an independent entity, similar to the PetroCaribe Fund, under the new Telecommunications Act which will also Strengthen and widen the country's crime-detection and crime-fighting efforts through the use of technologies, such as public networked camera systems. When these policies are effectively implemented there will be drastic reduction in crime and violence