On June 7, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings hosted Prime Minister Bruce Golding of Jamaica for a discussion on economic development and pathways to growth for the Caribbean region. The prime minister addressed issues such as the relationship between institutional reform and economic growth and the opportunities of a globalized economy for the Caribbean region.

Bruce Golding was sworn in as Prime Minister of Jamaica in 2007. His political career began as a nineteen-year-old in 1967, when he took charge of his father’s fledgling re-election campaign to the House of Representatives and turned it around, holding the seat by 878 votes. Less than five years later he became the youngest person ever elected to Parliament. Throughout his career, he served his country as senator, minister of construction, leader of the Jamaica Labor Party, member of Parliament, and now prime minister. Senior Fellow Mauricio Cárdenas, director of the Latin America Initiative, moderated the discussion.

After the program, the prime minister took audience questions.