Jamaica became the first Caribbean country and the second in the Western Hemisphere to implement the recommendations of the Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) when it launched the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) earlier today.

The page serves as a as a one-stop publication for essential macroeconomic data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), the Ministry of Finance and Public Service and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

“The act of publishing national economic data on a timely basis promotes efficiency in financial markets, encourages fiscal discipline, discourages public sector negligence and corruption, and allows policymakers and regulators to assess and manage risk better,” BOJ Governor Brian Wynter said the launch in downtown Kingston.

The summary data page will be posted on the websites of the BOJ, STATIN and the Ministry of Finance and Public Service using statistical data and metadata exchange.

From there the public can access the most up-to-date data for all the agencies on a single page.

- mcpherse.thompson@gleanerjm.com